Is Digital Adoption the way forward to Curb Energy Poverty?

In the recent years, several studies have investigated the technology-emission nexus, but overlooked the effect of technology penetration and digital adoption by society, businesses, and the government. This readiness to embrace the digitization of processes is the direct outcome of technological innovation and R&D investment, particularly in matters relating to the environment by changing the energy structure in the form of electricity generation. This study, therefore, investigates the role of digital adoption in coping with the broader issue of energy poverty and environmental protection. Electricity generation from fossil fuels (EG) and the digital adoption index (DAI), and its sub-indexes are the major variables that have been used in this study. In this regard, the study assesses how the level of technology adoption in an economy essentially affects electricity generation, and consequently the climate. Our results exhibit that digital adoption leads to a reduction in electricity generation, and also indicate that digital adoption can make the environment better by bringing efficiencies in the use of electricity, and by reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Automated summary

This study investigates the role of digital adoption in addressing energy poverty and environmental protection. The results demonstrate that digital adoption leads to a reduction in electricity generation, improves electricity efficiency, and reduces fossil fuel use.