Towards the goal of going green: Do green growth and innovation matter for environmental sustainability in Pakistan

Climate change has become a more pressing issue as time goes on, the role of green growth and green innovation emerges as a driving force for cleaner economic growth and a healthy environment by reducing environmental contamination. Environmental pollution is influenced by a wide variety of factors, as evidenced by numerous research studies. The impact of green growth and green innovation, as well as ICT on CO2 emissions has not been adequately examined in these research studies. This study highlights the importance of green growth (GG) and green innovation (GIN) for sustainable development. Our study aims to fill the gap by investigating how green growth impacts CO2 emissions in Pakistan, specifically in light of green innovations and ICT. A key innovation of this research is its incorporation of ICT interaction with green growth and green innovation. The results from augmented ARDL analysis constitute that green growth and green innovation significantly contribute to improving environmental sustainability in Pakistan. But in contrast, ICT shows a significant positive relationship with CO2 emissions. Similarly, the interaction between GG*ICT upsurge CO2 emissions, however, the role of the interaction term GIN*ICT is positive in enhancing environmental quality. As a result, policymakers and regulators should focus on promoting a green growth agenda and green innovation to mitigate CO2 emissions and achieve sustainable development goals.