Quest for SDG-13: The Aptness of Green Investments and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to Emission Mitigation Among Central-African States

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG-13) enunciates the need to combat climate change by encouraging necessary actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this laudable goal was re-echoed at COP-28 in the UAE. Although negatively impacted by climate change, the vast literature is silent on the Central Africa (CA) region. Thus, we empirically dissect the emission-mitigating roles of green investment while integrating the moderating influences of ICT, foreign capitals (FDI), and non-renewable energy intake, within the region's economic expansion and population growth. We observe that economic expansion has a non-linear impact on emissions (an inverted U-Shaped pattern); with initial emission-inducing effects from non-renewable energy, financial development, population, and foreign capitals while green investment and ICT mitigate regional emissions. Subsequent expansion in indicators (green investments, FDI, and ICT) significantly mitigates emissions except for non-renewable energy intake. Green investments' interactive impacts with overall financial development trends also enhance regional environmental goals. Overall, the study posits that CA states can potentially mitigate environmental degradation by leveraging ICT and green investments towards the realization of SDG-13.