How do energy technology innovation, financial inclusion, and digital trade help to achieve carbon neutrality targets?

The ultimate goal of carbon neutrality objectives is to bring greenhouse gas emissions down to a point where they are no longer a factor in escalating climate change and global warming. Adopting sustainable habits, technologies, and investments may be facilitated and accelerated by energy technology innovation, digitalization trade, and financial inclusion, which can substantially influence reaching carbon neutrality objectives. However, none of the past studies have examined the role of energy technology innovation, financial inclusion, and digital trade on the carbon neutrality targets in top polluted economies. To fill this vacuum, this study aims to investigate the effect of energy technology innovation, financial inclusion, and digital trade on carbon neutrality in the top 40 polluted economies across Asia, America, and Europe from 2004-2021. Two renowned econometric techniques are used for empirical analysis, including Two Stage Least Square (2SLS) and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The estimates of energy innovation, ICT trade, digital financial inclusion, foreign direct investment, and research and development spending highlight the adverse influence on carbon emissions in global, Asian, American, and European samples. Conversely, the per capita income and foreign direct investment cause carbon emissions to increase in Asia, America, and Europe. Thus, policy experts in top polluted economies should target an integrated policy with a central focus on energy innovation, digital trade, and financial inclusiveness to achieve carbon neutrality.