How does technological innovation affect the ecological footprint? Evidence from E-7 countries in the background of the SDGs
Özet
Although technological innovation plays a critical role in promoting sustainable development and environmental
sustainability, there are few studies in the existing literature that address this relationship. This study aimed to
investigate the relationship between technological innovation (TI), renewable energy consumption (REC), natural resource rent (NRR) and ecological footprint (EF) of E-7 countries (i.e. Brazil, China, India, Indonesia,
Mexico, Russia and Turkiye) from 1992 to 2018 in order to ensure environmental sustainability in the context of
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Analysis was performed using the ARDL estimator, robustness test
and Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality (DHC) test. Long-term empirical estimates from the PMG-ARDL technique
have shown that a 1 % increase in TI and REC reduces EF by 0.064 % and 0.234 %, respectively, i.e. increases
environmental sustainability. At this point, it is possible to say that TI and REC contribute to the achievement of
SDG-7 and 13 in E-7 countries while NRR and real income (GDP) were found to impede the achievement of SDG7 and 13 in E-7 countries through an increase in EF. The results were confirmed using robustness techniques. In
the DHC test results, while there is a unidirectional causality from TI to EF, from EF to NRR and trade openness, a
bidirectional causality was found between GDP and EF. This study suggests that policymakers should focus on
introducing environmentally friendly equipment to reduce environmental degradation, increase the share of
RECs and focus on sustainable development within the framework of the SDGs.
