Harnessing Technological Innovation for Environmental Sustainability: Exploring Direct Effects and Indirect Pathways

As African economies strive to balance economic transformation with environmental sustainability, technological innovation has emerged as a key driver of low‐carbon and environmentally sustainable development. This study empirically investigates the role of technological innovation in driving environmental sustainability, captured by carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) emissions and ecological footprint, within the African context. Employing a dataset of 36 African countries spanning 2000 to 2022 and utilizing both the Driscoll‐Kraay and Instrumental Variable Generalized Method of Moments estimators, the empirical findings reveal that technological innovation significantly reduces both CO ₂ emissions and ecological footprint. The results further demonstrate that renewable energy consumption constitutes a significant transmission channel through which technological innovation improves environmental sustainability, while natural resource rents do not exhibit a statistically significant mediating effect. The heterogeneity analysis further shows that technological innovation significantly reduces both CO ₂ emissions and ecological footprint in resource‐rich countries, whereas the corresponding effects are statistically insignificant in resource‐scarce countries, highlighting important structural differences across the continent. The findings remain robust across various specifications and sensitivity checks, addressing potential endogeneity concerns. The study therefore recommends increasing investments in green technological innovation, accelerating the deployment of renewable energy technologies, and strengthening natural resource governance to maximize the environmental benefits of innovation and support Africa's transition towards sustainable development.

JEL Classification

O33, O55, Q53, Q56