Can Good Governance Make Digitalization Environmentally Sustainable? Evidence from Pakistan

This study investigates the asymmetric impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on ecological footprint in Pakistan, incorporating governance as a moderating factor. Using a nonlinear ARDL framework, the analysis distinguishes between positive and negative shocks in fixed broadband subscriptions and internet usage. The results confirm long-run cointegration and reveal that digital expansion increases ecological pressure, largely due to fossil fuel–based energy dependence. However, governance quality significantly mitigates these adverse effects by moderating the ICT–environment nexus. The findings highlight the importance of institutional strength and energy transition policies in ensuring that digital transformation contributes to environmental sustainability in developing economies.

Energy Transition and SDG Performance in GCC Countries: The Moderating Role of Renewable Electricity under Carbon Pressure

This study examines the relationship between renewable electricity output and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in GCC countries, while considering the moderating role of carbon dioxide emissions. The analysis employs panel data and applies the cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model to estimate both long-run and short-run relationships. The results indicate that renewable electricity output, electricity access, and renewable energy consumption positively contribute to SDG performance, whereas carbon emissions and energy intensity hinder sustainable development. The moderating analysis further shows that renewable electricity can mitigate the adverse effects of emissions. The findings highlight the importance of expanding renewable energy and improving energy efficiency to accelerate sustainable development in GCC economies.

Asymmetric Impact of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence on the Energy-Growth Nexus-Evidence From 38 OECD Countries

This study is carried out to investigate the asymmetric impact of digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) on the energy-growth nexus among 38 OECD countries from 2000 to 2022. We added two new variables a Green Innovation index (GI) and an Energy Transition Index (ETI) to the traditional energy-growth literature with interactive terms of digitalization and artificial intelligence. Using a robust multi-stage econometric approach which includes Pesaran (2003) cross-sectional dependence test, the CIPS panel unit root test (Pesaran, 2007), Westerlund-style panel cointegration analysis, the Panel Nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) model of Shin et al. (2014), the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), the Driscoll-Kraay cross-sectional ARDL (CS-ARDL) for robustness, and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin (2012) heterogeneous panel causality test, we generate several principal findings. First, digitalization and AI jointly exert significant and positive long-run effects on GDP per capita (elasticities; 0.208 and 0.205) respectively. Second, the NARDL Wald test result shows that the impact of ETI on growth is indeed asymmetric (ETI⁺: 0.316; Wald t=3.02, p=0.005), which had never been statistically tested with any other OECD panel study before. Third, the results from MMQR suggest that the push towards green innovation improves slightly at the top of the income distribution, but the push towards the energy transition has a U-shape distribution. Fourth, the result of the heterogeneity analysis shows that the importance of energy transition is only evident in the low-digitalization OECD countries which highlights the moderating effect of digital readiness. The findings offer fresh policy insights on the link between digital and energy transition strategies in OECD countries.