The Effect of Technological Innovation on Co2 Emissions in OECD Countries: Using Panel Regression

In the last century, energy consumption has grown in parallel with population growth and the extensive use of technology. While increased energy consumption has major environmental consequences due to carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, it has also accelerated the search for renewable energy. In this study, we investigated the effect of technological innovations and renewable energy on carbon dioxide emissions. For this purpose, we examined the number of patents and the effects of renewable energy use on the environment of 37 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, which constitute the world's largest economy, between 1990 and 2019, using the panel cointegration method. The empirical results show that the increase in the number of patents has a significant effect on CO₂ emissions, while investment and GDP have a relatively small effect. It was concluded that renewable energy and export trade variables reduce CO₂ emissions.