Integrating Technologies for a Greener Future: Exploring the Dynamics of Industrial, Environmental, and Energy Technologies in Pollution Mitigation
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Technological advancements play a crucial role in mitigating the adverse environmental effects of economic activities by enhancing efficiency, enabling cleaner production, and optimizing resource use, thereby fostering long-term sustainability. As the world races toward technological advancement, the challenge lies in balancing industrial, environmental, and energy technologies to protect the planet from escalating ecological degradation. This study explores the intricate relationship between industrial, environmental, and energy technologies in shaping ecological protection across 14 OECD countries from 2004 to 2021. Using advanced fixed-effects regression, the findings reveal that industrial technology mitigates environmental pollution, while environmental and energy technologies paradoxically exacerbate it, highlighting unintended ecological trade-offs. Climate-related finance and energy R&D play pivotal roles in reducing pollution, whereas industrial and environmental R&D unexpectedly worsen it. Governance emerges as a critical factor: regulatory quality reduces pollution, but government effectiveness displays counterintuitive effects. Governance structures moderate the technology-pollution nexus: regulatory quality reinforces the impact of energy and environmental research and development (R&D), while government effectiveness negatively moderates the effect of industrial R&D. Additionally, triadic interactions among technologies are positively associated with pollution, highlighting the complexity of technological influences. These findings underscore the need for policies that balance innovation, governance, and sustainability to maximize environmental benefits.
