The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability

This paper contributes to the empirical literature on environmentally sustainable policies. To this end, the study explores the crucial role of information and communication technologies (ICT), foreign direct investment (FDI), and renewable energy intensity (REI) in enhancing environmental quality i...

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Main Authors: Lanouar Charfeddine, Montassar Kahia, Abdul Rahman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Sustainable Futures
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825001443
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author Lanouar Charfeddine
Montassar Kahia
Abdul Rahman
author_facet Lanouar Charfeddine
Montassar Kahia
Abdul Rahman
author_sort Lanouar Charfeddine
collection DOAJ
description This paper contributes to the empirical literature on environmentally sustainable policies. To this end, the study explores the crucial role of information and communication technologies (ICT), foreign direct investment (FDI), and renewable energy intensity (REI) in enhancing environmental quality in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. This paper extends the STIRPAT model by incorporating three variables of interest namely ICT, FDI, and REI. The proposed framework is empirically tested using a panel VAR model for a sample of 13 selected MENA countries from 1995 to 2018. The empirical findings indicate that ICT reduces the level of CO2 emissions, while its effects on the ecological footprint provide mixed results. Moreover, the outcomes further confirm that FDI degrades the environmental quality of the region. However, relatively a more pronounced impact was found for oil-exporting economies compared to oil-importing economies. On the other hand, the impact of REI on environmental degradation is found mixed. The analysis, based on impulse response functions, variance decomposition, and causality analysis, provides strong evidence for the importance of these factors in explaining environmental degradation. Several tailored policies have been proposed and discussed for transforming environmental sustainability in the MENA region.
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spelling doaj-art-d86656bfd75643ee9664e128c90e8eb32025-08-20T03:45:34ZengElsevierSustainable Futures2666-18882025-06-01910057410.1016/j.sftr.2025.100574The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainabilityLanouar Charfeddine0Montassar Kahia1Abdul Rahman2College of Business and Economics, Qatar University, P.O.Box 2713, Doha, QatarDepartment of Economics, College of Business and Economics, Qassim University, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Management Sciences, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan; Corresponding author.This paper contributes to the empirical literature on environmentally sustainable policies. To this end, the study explores the crucial role of information and communication technologies (ICT), foreign direct investment (FDI), and renewable energy intensity (REI) in enhancing environmental quality in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. This paper extends the STIRPAT model by incorporating three variables of interest namely ICT, FDI, and REI. The proposed framework is empirically tested using a panel VAR model for a sample of 13 selected MENA countries from 1995 to 2018. The empirical findings indicate that ICT reduces the level of CO2 emissions, while its effects on the ecological footprint provide mixed results. Moreover, the outcomes further confirm that FDI degrades the environmental quality of the region. However, relatively a more pronounced impact was found for oil-exporting economies compared to oil-importing economies. On the other hand, the impact of REI on environmental degradation is found mixed. The analysis, based on impulse response functions, variance decomposition, and causality analysis, provides strong evidence for the importance of these factors in explaining environmental degradation. Several tailored policies have been proposed and discussed for transforming environmental sustainability in the MENA region.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825001443F21F64L86Q43Q48R11
spellingShingle Lanouar Charfeddine
Montassar Kahia
Abdul Rahman
The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability
Sustainable Futures
F21
F64
L86
Q43
Q48
R11
title The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability
title_full The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability
title_fullStr The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability
title_full_unstemmed The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability
title_short The role of technologies, finance, and green energies in transforming Middle East and North African environmental sustainability
title_sort role of technologies finance and green energies in transforming middle east and north african environmental sustainability
topic F21
F64
L86
Q43
Q48
R11
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666188825001443
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