Abstract：
The Connect 2030 initiative, launched by the International Telecommunication Union, is in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030. Its main objective is to achieve universal connectivity, a goal that is closely related to environmental issues. This topic currently receives attention from researchers and policymakers. Given these considerations, our study investigates the impact of information and communication technologies on carbon dioxide emissions for a panel of 84 countries spanning the years 2009 to 2020. Using principal component analysis, we construct an ICT index that encompasses international bandwidth, reflecting the universal connectivity, and participation in international data exchanges. The empirical analysis applies the pooled mean group-panel autoregressive distributive lag (PMG-ARDL) approach to estimate both the long-run and short-run coefficients of CO2 emissions\' determinants. Our findings show that ICT and renewable energy mitigate CO2 emissions, unlike financial development, GDP, and non-renewable energy, which contribute significantly to emissions for the full sample. These outcomes suggest that promoting ICTs in general and international bandwidth in particular, as part of universal connectivity, improves the quality of the global environment.
摘要：
连接2030倡议，由国际电信联盟发起，符合联合国2030年议程的可持续发展目标。它的主要目标是实现通用连接，与环境问题密切相关的目标。该主题目前受到研究人员和政策制定者的关注。鉴于这些考虑,我们的研究调查了信息和通信技术对2009年至2020年84个国家的二氧化碳排放的影响。使用主成分分析，我们构建了一个包含国际带宽的ICT指数，反映了普遍的连通性，参与国际数据交换。实证分析应用了混合均值组面板自回归分布滞后（PMG-ARDL）方法来估计CO2排放决定因素的长期和短期系数。我们的研究结果表明，ICT和可再生能源可以减少二氧化碳排放，与金融发展不同，GDP,和不可再生能源，这对整个样本的排放有很大贡献。这些结果表明，在一般和国际带宽方面促进信通技术，作为通用连接的一部分，改善全球环境的质量。
