Innovation for carbon mitigation: a hoax or road toward green growth? Evidence from newly industrialized economies

The research explores the nexus between technological innovation and green growth in nine newly industrialized (NI) countries for the period from 2000 to 2016. Cross-sectional dependence and unit root tests are preliminary conducted. Pedroni’s panel cointegration and fully modified OLS (FMOLS) confirm the existence of long-run variables association. The outcome from IPAT, STIRPAT, and MLR reveals that production and processing-related technologies are harmful to green growth. Climate change mitigation technologies linked to transportation, water treatment, and processing have a positive impact on green growth. However, energy consumption, generation, and transmission technologies hurt the environment. Similarly, energy consumption in the agriculture sector adds in greenhouse gas emission, whereas, renewable energy is contributing positively to green production and growth. Environmental taxes and research and development budgets are playing a decisive role in the pursuit of green growth. The results have significant policy implications for policymakers, which can lead to green growth.