The moderating role of disaggregated ICT diffusion in green energy–ecological footprint nexus in Saudi Arabia: An application of a QARDL approach

In the era of accelerating digital transformation and environmental challenges, understanding the interaction between technological progress and green energy is essential for achieving sustainable development. This study aimed to investigate the direct effect of green energy on EFP in Saudi Arabia over the 1990-2023 period. Furthermore, this paper takes ICT diffusion (containing Fixed telephone subscriptions, Individuals using the Internet, and Mobile cellular subscriptions) is the moderating variable to study the indirect effect of green energy on EFP. To achieve this, the study employs the Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL) model. The findings reveal that GDP increases the ecological footprint, whereas green energy, and all three indicators of ICT directly contribute to its reduction. In contrast, the interaction between green energy and fixed telephone subscriptions, as well as between green energy and Internet use, leads to an increase in the ecological footprint (except in the case of mobile subscriptions). This study recommends that the government and policymakers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can achieve environmental sustainability faster by jointly utilizing green energy with mobile subscriptions, compared to the levels of fixed subscriptions and internet use.