Navigating the Green Frontier: The Impact of Digitalization on Environmental Pollution in Selected South East Asian Economies

Noor Zahirah Mohd Sidek, Noor Alfiah Hasanah and Muhammad Hanif Othman
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Noor Zahirah Mohd Sidek: Department of Economics, Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia
Noor Alfiah Hasanah: Faculty of Economics and Management, Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia
Muhammad Hanif Othman: Department of Economics, Faculty of Business Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, 2024, vol. 8, issue 10, 2771-2783

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to re-examine the impact of digitalization on environmental pollution. Past studies use CO2 as a representation of potential environmental harm. In this paper, environmental pollution is extended to cover other sources of pollution such as methane and nitrous oxide. Prior to the analysis, the cross-dependency and panel unit root tests were conducted to understand the underlying structure of the data and to examine the suitability of the econometrics method used. Given the absence of cross-dependency and the presence of unit roots, the panel ARDL estimation method is used to examine the interplay between digitalization and environmental pollution. In addition, CO2 is segregated into different categories of emission such as CO2 resulting from the production of electricity and heat, manufacturing, and emissions from transportation. The sample consists of ten Southeast Asian countries spanning from 2003 to 2022. Results indicate that digitalization amplifies environmental pollution irrespective of the proxy used. The surge in the number of internet users induces higher emissions due to increased production of electricity and heat, emissions from solid and liquid fuel usage, and transport. Similarly, an increase in mobile users increases CO2 emissions from fuel and liquid consumption, manufacturing, construction, and transportation. Moving forward, it is crucial to consider the adoption of green technology in production and explore alternative energy sources to curtail environmental pollution.

Date: 2024
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