Research report: Green technological development and energy transition for climate sustainability in India

A new study of India’s greenhouse gas emissions finds that the direction of change matters as much as the change itself. Analysing annual data from 1990 to 2018, researchers report that positive shocks in renewable energy consumption significantly reduce emissions, while positive shocks in innovation and technological development initially push emissions upward, reflecting industrial expansion and energy-intensive production processes.

The study, published in Discover Sustainability, examined the asymmetric effects of innovation, renewable energy and technological know-how on greenhouse gas emissions in India. Rather than assuming each variable has a single, symmetrical effect, the authors employed a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model, which allows them to capture both short-run and long-run relationships separately for positive and negative shocks in each variable.

The data came from the World Development Indicators, and the analysis covered both the short run and the long run. The results reveal significant asymmetries in how innovation, renewable energy consumption and technological know-how affect environmental degradation, meaning that increases and decreases in these variables do not have matching, opposite effects on emissions.

The central finding concerns renewable energy. Positive shocks in renewable energy consumption significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which the authors say highlights the importance of clean energy transitions for environmental sustainability. This supports the idea that expanding renewable energy investment is a direct lever for lowering India’s emissions.

Innovation tells a more complicated story. Positive shocks in innovation and technological development initially increase emissions, a pattern the researchers attribute to industrial expansion and energy-intensive production processes.

The authors found no evidence supporting its validity in the case of India during the 1990 to 2018 study period, meaning economic growth alone cannot be expected to clean up the country’s environment.

These findings underscore the need for policy strategies that promote environmentally friendly technological innovation and expand renewable energy investment, according to the study. Strengthening green technological development and accelerating the energy transition are described as crucial for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 13, which relates to climate action.

The study is an open-access research article published on 24 September 2026, and the version shared is an accepted manuscript subject to further edits before the final Version of Record. As with any single-country time-series analysis, the conclusions apply to India over the period studied and rest on the indicators and modelling choices the authors used, rather than on experimental manipulation of policy variables.

Subject of Research: Asymmetric effects of innovation, renewable energy and technological know-how on greenhouse gas emissions in India from 1990 to 2018

Article Title: Green technological development and energy transition for climate sustainability in India

Article References: Itoo, H. H., Iqubal, M. A., Sharmiladevi, J. C., Equbal, M. S., Abusaad, M., & Havyarimana, A. (2026). Green technological development and energy transition for climate sustainability in India. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04790-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04790-6

Keywords: India, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, innovation, NARDL model, Environmental Kuznets Curve, energy transition, climate sustainability, Discover Sustainability, SDG 13, Green, technological