Are green innovation, green energy and green manufacturing successful in promoting ecological development? Evidence from G-20 countries

Abstract

In the contemporary world, authorities are becoming more conscious of the growth that prioritizes sustainability. This can be achieved through the use of green technology in the production process. In this context, unlike other studies, this study examines the environmental quality of G-20 countries in terms of their ecological footprint (EFP) concerning environmental technological innovation and green growth indicators (i.e., green energy, economic growth, and green production). In this study, the “continuously updated fully modified (CUP-FM)” approach was conducted using the panel data from 1992 to 2021. Besides, this study also employed the “Dumitrescu & Hurlin (2012) panel causality tests” to find the causality relationship between the variables. According to the findings, a 1% increase in green energy supply leads to a 0.09% increase in EFP; therefore, dwindling overall ecological sustainability which is a surprising result for the G-20 context. Similarly, 1% increases in green innovation and green production have also been observed to increase EFP by 0.14% and 0.11%, respectively. Likewise, it was concluded that a 1% increase in economic growth increases EFP by 0.75%. The aforementioned conclusions suggest that the G-20 countries should give priority to projects related to the development of green technology, the application of strategies for sustainable economic growth, and the improvement of production efficiency to improve environmental quality.