ICT Development and Sustainable Energy Consumption: A Perspective of Energy Productivity

Abstract

Abstract:The information and communication technology (ICT) is closely related to the future of global energy consumption, not only because the ICT equipment itself increasingly consumes energy, but also because it is a general-purpose technology which may affect energy use of almost all sectors. Given the controversy over the net energy-saving effect of ICT, this paper focuses on a new perspective, i.e., energy productivity, to investigate the relationship between ICT development and energy consumption. Using a data panel of 50 economies over the period of 1995 to 2013, results of the Malmquist energy productivity index generally indicate an unbalanced development of energy productivity across the globe, while results of the patent-based ICT knowledge stock indicate a huge gap of ICT development comparing the high-income economies with the others. Furthermore, regression results indicate that ICT development is significantly related to energy productivity improvement. Finally, this paper suggests accelerating ICT development in underdeveloped economies, given the global common task of sustainable energy consumption.

Assessing the influence of Information and Communication Technologies on energy productivity

“…Results of the study confirm the research of Yan et al (2018), who identified a positive impact of ICT development on energy productivity. The analysis provides a different perspective on this relation by analyzing the aspects that determine a developed ICT sector and can contribute to a higher energy productivity.…”

“…The positive influence on energy productivity provided by Pillar 6, ICT individual usage, which includes indicators related to internet usage and internet infrastructure in its computation, as well as the influence of Pillar 7, business usage, which includes indicators such as business-to-consumer internet use and firm-level absorption, suggests an alignment with the conclusion of Romm et al (2008), who identified that the internet can help lower electricity intensity. The influence that ICT usage and its impact on the economy have on energy productivity also confirms the results of Yan et al (2018), which showed a positive relation between ICT development and energy productivity. However, a closer analysis of the indicators that make up these pillars needs to be carried out.…”

“…In a study performed by Yan et al (2018), ICT development, measured based on a patent-based indicator, has been positively linked to an accumulation of energy productivity. Studying which aspects of the ICT sector influence energy productivity on a macroeconomic level could reveal relevant information for achieving a better performance for this indicator.…”

Energy Consumption Between Routing and Bridging Protocol for Eco-Friendly Wireless Networks

“…Energy saving is a global issue today. It is needed a strategy to save the energy for operating the ICT business include wireless technology [12], rather than debating what kind of technology that saves the energy [13].…”

“…Energy saving is a global issue today. It is needed a strategy to save the energy for operating the ICT business include wireless technology [12], rather than debating what kind of technology that saves the energy [13].Power consumption of network devices does not have any relation with the bandwidth condition, but it has relationship with the configuration of the device [14]. The network device configuration includes how data forwarded, the size of the packet, and what operation mode the device to be.…”