Digital Economy, Green Growth, and Global Energy Transition

Abstract This study used four United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) indicators as dependent variables and examined the effects of green growth and the digital economy on these indicators for a panel of 72 countries between 2003 and 2019. Using the generalized method of moments, the analysis showed that green growth and the digital economy have driven the renewable energy transition in a sustainable development framework. Foreign direct investment was found to have negatively moderated the relationships between green growth and the SDG7 indicators, and between the digital economy and the SDG7 indicators. The results remained consistent in signs when alternative variable proxies and estimators were applied. Heterogeneity analysis indicated that green growth and the digital economy affected SDG7 positively across different income groups and regions. These results suggest that policymakers should focus on green growth and digitalization while considering the role of foreign direct investment inflows.