Research Paper: Kwakwa, P. A., Adjei-Mantey, K., & Adusah-Poku, F. (2023). The effect of transport services and ICTs on carbon dioxide emissions in South Africa. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(4), 10457-10468.

 

What this paper is about

  • In order to tackle climate change and its associated negative effects, world leaders are determined to have lower levels of carbon dioxide emissions as enshrined in the sustainable development goals (SDGs)
  • The remaining variables, namely urbanization, income, fixed telephone adoption, and transport services, were differenced making them stationary. This implies that whereas variables mobile phone adoption, internet usage, and CO2 emissions are integrated of order zero, I(0), the remaining variables such as urbanization, income, fixed telephone adoption, and transport services are integrated of order one, I(1)
  • The quest to mitigate climate change and its effects has led to studies on factors that influence carbon dioxide emission and policies to achieve a low carbon economy globally
  • Given the heightened role that ICTs are beginning to assume in the development and modernization of economies in sub-Saharan Africa, not least in South Africa where the ICTs sector is vibrant, this study sought to examine the role of ICTs on carbon dioxide discharges in South Africa
  • Since the reported outcome appear to affirm the school of thought that in South Africa, ICTs lead emissions, it is recommended that the government of South Africa pays particular attention to ICT devices and equipment used in the country as well as the sources of energy used to power these devices and equipment
  • A 1% increase in mobile phone adoption and internet usage increases per capita CO2 emissions by 0.05% and 0.002%, respectively with these two coefficients being statistically significant at 1% level of significance
  • The negative effect on carbon dioxide emissions suggests that the government of South Africa ought to maintain and aim at further improvements in the energy efficiency of the transport system to increase the dampening effect of the sector on CO2 emissions

 

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