IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v302y2021ics0306261921009879.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decoupling and decomposition analysis of investments and CO2 emissions in information and communication technology sector

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Jianda
  • Jiang, Qingzhe
  • Dong, Xiucheng
  • Dong, Kangyin

Abstract

Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) economies are facing a substantial increase in the information and communication technology (ICT) investments in the context of rapid spread of the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-2019) pandemic and constraints of emissions reduction. However, the mechanism of the impact of ICT investments on carbon dioxide is still unclear. Therefore, by employing the decoupling-factor model and Generalized Divisia Index Method, we explore the decoupling states of ICT investments and emission intensity, and the driving factors of ICT investments’ scale, intensity, structure, and efficiency effects on carbon emissions in 20 OECD economies between 2000 and 2018. The results indicate that the number of economies with an ideal state of strong decoupling rose to nine between 2009 and 2018 compared to no economies between 2000 and 2009. The emission intensity of ICT investments contributes to a significant increase of carbon emissions, and the structure and efficiency of ICT investments always restrain the growth of carbon emissions. Significant emissions changes caused by the driving factors are shown in many economies before and after the crisis, reflecting the differences in the strategic choices of ICT investments and the impact on emissions due to the crisis such as the COVID-2019 pandemic. And policy implications for energy and carbon dioxide mitigation strategies in the post-COVID-2019 era are also provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Jianda & Jiang, Qingzhe & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2021. "Decoupling and decomposition analysis of investments and CO2 emissions in information and communication technology sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:302:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921009879
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117618
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261921009879
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117618?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meng, Bo & Wang, Jianguo & Andrew, Robbie & Xiao, Hao & Xue, Jinjun & Peters, Glen P., 2017. "Spatial spillover effects in determining China's regional CO2 emissions growth: 2007–2010," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 161-173.
    2. Jianda Wang & Xiucheng Dong & Kangyin Dong, 2021. "How renewable energy reduces CO2 emissions? Decoupling and decomposition analysis for 25 countries along the Belt and Road," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(40), pages 4597-4613, August.
    3. Zhang, Haoran & Chen, Jinyu & Li, Wenjing & Song, Xuan & Shibasaki, Ryosuke, 2020. "Mobile phone GPS data in urban ride-sharing: An assessment method for emission reduction potential," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    4. Wang, Wei-Zheng & Liu, Lan-Cui & Liao, Hua & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Impacts of urbanization on carbon emissions: An empirical analysis from OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    5. Ali, Mohammad Afshar & Alam, Khorshed & Taylor, Brad & Rafiq, Shuddhasattwa, 2020. "Does ICT maturity catalyse economic development? Evidence from a panel data estimation approach in OECD countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 163-174.
    6. Haein Kim & Minsang Kim & Hyunggeun Kim & Sangkyu Park, 2020. "Decomposition Analysis of CO 2 Emission from Electricity Generation: Comparison of OECD Countries before and after the Financial Crisis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-16, July.
    7. Cho, Youngsang & Lee, Jongsu & Kim, Tai-Yoo, 2007. "The impact of ICT investment and energy price on industrial electricity demand: Dynamic growth model approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 4730-4738, September.
    8. Sui, Yi & Zhang, Haoran & Shang, Wenlong & Sun, Rencheng & Wang, Changying & Ji, Jun & Song, Xuan & Shao, Fengjing, 2020. "Mining urban sustainable performance: Spatio-temporal emission potential changes of urban transit buses in post-COVID-19 future," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    9. Dong, Kangyin & Hochman, Gal & Zhang, Yaqing & Sun, Renjin & Li, Hui & Liao, Hua, 2018. "CO2 emissions, economic and population growth, and renewable energy: Empirical evidence across regions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 180-192.
    10. Feng Dong & Ruyin Long & Zhuolin Li & Yuanju Dai, 2016. "Analysis of carbon emission intensity, urbanization and energy mix: evidence from China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 82(2), pages 1375-1391, June.
    11. Xu, Zhen & Das, Debasish Kumar & Guo, Wei & Wei, Wendong, 2021. "Does power grid infrastructure stimulate regional economic growth?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Salahuddin, Mohammad & Alam, Khorshed & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2016. "The effects of Internet usage and economic growth on CO2 emissions in OECD countries: A panel investigation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1226-1235.
    13. Marcel P. Timmer & Erik Dietzenbacher & Bart Los & Robert Stehrer & Gaaitzen J. Vries, 2015. "An Illustrated User Guide to the World Input–Output Database: the Case of Global Automotive Production," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(3), pages 575-605, August.
    14. Tapio, Petri, 2005. "Towards a theory of decoupling: degrees of decoupling in the EU and the case of road traffic in Finland between 1970 and 2001," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 137-151, March.
    15. Chang, Yih F & Lin, Sue J, 1998. "Structural decomposition of industrial CO2 emission in Taiwan: an input-output approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 5-12, January.
    16. Peters, Glen P., 2008. "From production-based to consumption-based national emission inventories," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 13-23, March.
    17. Wang, Yafei & Zhao, Hongyan & Li, Liying & Liu, Zhu & Liang, Sai, 2013. "Carbon dioxide emission drivers for a typical metropolis using input–output structural decomposition analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 312-318.
    18. Sinha, Avik, 2018. "Impact of ICT exports and internet usage on carbon emissions: A case of OECD countries," MPRA Paper 103716, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    19. Habibi, Fateh & Zabardast, Mohamad Amjad, 2020. "Digitalization, education and economic growth: A comparative analysis of Middle East and OECD countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. Brizga, Janis & Feng, Kuishuang & Hubacek, Klaus, 2014. "Drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the Baltic States: A structural decomposition analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 22-28.
    21. Wen-Cheng Lu, 2018. "The impacts of information and communication technology, energy consumption, financial development, and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions in 12 Asian countries," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 1351-1365, December.
    22. Gueye, Ghislain Nono, 2021. "Pitfalls in the cointegration analysis of housing prices with the macroeconomy: Evidence from OECD countries," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    23. Liu, Lirong & Huang, Guohe & Baetz, Brian & Zhang, Kaiqiang, 2018. "Environmentally-extended input-output simulation for analyzing production-based and consumption-based industrial greenhouse gas mitigation policies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C), pages 69-78.
    24. Dong, Kangyin & Hochman, Gal & Timilsina, Govinda R., 2020. "Do drivers of CO2 emission growth alter overtime and by the stage of economic development?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    25. Vaninsky, Alexander, 2014. "Factorial decomposition of CO2 emissions: A generalized Divisia index approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 389-400.
    26. Chen, Jiandong & Wang, Ping & Cui, Lianbiao & Huang, Shuo & Song, Malin, 2018. "Decomposition and decoupling analysis of CO2 emissions in OECD," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 937-950.
    27. Qiu, Rui & Liao, Qi & Yan, Jie & Yan, Yamin & Guo, Zhichao & Liang, Yongtu & Zhang, Haoran, 2021. "The coupling impact of subsystem interconnection and demand response on the distributed energy systems: A case study of the composite community in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    28. Chung, Whan-Sam & Tohno, Susumu & Shim, Sang Yul, 2009. "An estimation of energy and GHG emission intensity caused by energy consumption in Korea: An energy IO approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(10), pages 1902-1914, October.
    29. Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng & Ren, Xiaohang, 2020. "Can expanding natural gas infrastructure mitigate CO2 emissions? Analysis of heterogeneous and mediation effects for China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    30. Adedoyin, Festus Fatai & Bekun, Festus Victor & Driha, Oana M. & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel, 2020. "The effects of air transportation, energy, ICT and FDI on economic growth in the industry 4.0 era: Evidence from the United States," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    31. Liu, Bingquan & Shi, Junxue & Wang, Hui & Su, Xuelin & Zhou, Peng, 2019. "Driving factors of carbon emissions in China: A joint decomposition approach based on meta-frontier," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    32. Wu, Ya & Zhu, Qianwen & Zhu, Bangzhu, 2018. "Comparisons of decoupling trends of global economic growth and energy consumption between developed and developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 30-38.
    33. Zhou, Xiaoyong & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Qunwei & Su, Bin, 2020. "Who shapes China's carbon intensity and how? A demand-side decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    34. Maurizio Catulli & Emma Fryer, 2012. "Information and Communication Technology‐Enabled Low Carbon Technologies: A New Subsector of the Economy?," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 16(3), pages 296-301, June.
    35. Zhang, Chuanguo & Liu, Cong, 2015. "The impact of ICT industry on CO2 emissions: A regional analysis in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 12-19.
    36. Alessandra Colecchia & Paul Schreyer, 2002. "ICT Investment and Economic Growth in the 1990s: Is the United States a Unique Case? A Comparative Study of Nine OECD Countries," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 5(2), pages 408-442, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Jianda & Yang, Senmiao & Dong, Kangyin & Nepal, Rabindra, 2024. "Assessing embodied carbon emission and its drivers in China's ICT sector: Multi-regional input-output and structural decomposition analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    2. Chien, Fengsheng & Anwar, Ahsan & Hsu, Ching-Chi & Sharif, Arshian & Razzaq, Asif & Sinha, Avik, 2021. "The role of information and communication technology in encountering environmental degradation: Proposing an SDG framework for the BRICS countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Usman, Ahmed & Ozturk, Ilhan & Ullah, Sana & Hassan, Ali, 2021. "Does ICT have symmetric or asymmetric effects on CO2 emissions? Evidence from selected Asian economies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Emad Kazemzadeh & José Alberto Fuinhas & Narges Salehnia & Fariba Osmani, 2023. "The effect of economic complexity, fertility rate, and information and communication technology on ecological footprint in the emerging economies: a two-step stirpat model and panel quantile regressio," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 737-763, February.
    5. Ibrahim D. Raheem & Aviral K. Tiwari & Daniel Balsalobre-lorente, 2019. "The Role of ICT and Financial Development on CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 19/058, African Governance and Development Institute..
    6. Suyi Kim, 2022. "The Effects of Information and Communication Technology, Economic Growth, Trade Openness, and Renewable Energy on CO 2 Emissions in OECD Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, March.
    7. Magazzino, Cosimo & Mele, Marco & Morelli, Giovanna & Schneider, Nicolas, 2021. "The nexus between information technology and environmental pollution: Application of a new machine learning algorithm to OECD countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    8. Wang, Jianda & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How digital industries affect China's carbon emissions? Analysis of the direct and indirect structural effects," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Wang, Jianda & Dong, Xiucheng & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How does ICT agglomeration affect carbon emissions? The case of Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    10. Kangyin Dong & Yalin Han & Yue Dou & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2022. "Moving toward carbon neutrality: Assessing natural gas import security and its impact on CO2 emissions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 751-770, August.
    11. Muhammet Enis Bulak & Murat Kucukvar, 2022. "How ecoefficient is European food consumption? A frontier‐based multiregional input–output analysis," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 817-832, October.
    12. Usman, Muhammad & Khalid, Khaizran & Mehdi, Muhammad Abuzar, 2021. "What determines environmental deficit in Asia? Embossing the role of renewable and non-renewable energy utilization," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1165-1176.
    13. Li, Jia Shuo & Zhou, H.W. & Meng, Jing & Yang, Q. & Chen, B. & Zhang, Y.Y., 2018. "Carbon emissions and their drivers for a typical urban economy from multiple perspectives: A case analysis for Beijing city," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 1076-1086.
    14. Liu, Xiao & Hang, Ye & Wang, Qunwei & Chiu, Ching-Ren & Zhou, Dequn, 2022. "The role of energy consumption in global carbon intensity change: A meta-frontier-based production-theoretical decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    15. Jia, Hongxiang & Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Anjian & Liu, Guwang & Guo, Xiaoqian, 2021. "Decoupling analysis of economic growth and mineral resources consumption in China from 1992 to 2017: A comparison between tonnage and exergy perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Sun, Hongye & Kim, Giseung, 2021. "The composite impact of ICT industry on lowering carbon intensity: From the perspective of regional heterogeneity," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    17. Bester Chimbo, 2020. "Information and Communication Technology and Electricity Consumption in Transitional Economies," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(3), pages 296-302.
    18. Bright Akwasi Gyamfi & Asiedu B. Ampomah & Festus V. Bekun & Simplice A. Asongu, 2022. "Can information and communication technology and institutional quality help mitigate climate change in E7 economies? An environmental Kuznets curve extension," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    19. Yang, Jun & Hao, Yun & Feng, Chao, 2021. "A race between economic growth and carbon emissions: What play important roles towards global low-carbon development?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    20. Ge, Yihan & Yuan, Rong, 2024. "Exploring decoupling relationship between ICT investments and energy consumption in China's provinces: Factors and policy implications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Information and communication technology (ICT) investments; Carbon emissions; Generalized Divisia Index Method; COVID-2019 pandemic; OECD economies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software
    • P45 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - International Linkages
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:302:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921009879. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.