ICT는 지속가능한 발전에 기여하는가?: OECD 국가의 ICT와 환경정책, 에너지소비수준의 관계를 중심으로

석조은^*

*경희대학교 행정학과 교원, 서울대학교 정보지식정책연구소 연구원 ssje99@snu.ac.kr

Does ICT Contribute to Sustainable Development? Analyzing the Relationships Between ICT, Environmental Policy, and Energy Consumption Level in OECD Countries

Jo-Eun Seok^*

초록

본 연구는 대한민국을 포함한 OECD 23개국의 2010년~2019년 패널데이터를 대상으로 국가의 ICT와 환경정책, 에너지소비수준의 관계를 시스템 GMM 분석방법을 통하여 실증 분석한다. 특히, 본 연구는 선행연구로부터 ICT와 에너지소비수준의 비선형적(non-linear) 관계를 고려하면서 종속변수는 국가별 에너지소비규모(scale) 및 에너지소비집중도(intensity)를 적용하고 설명변수는 ICT와 환경정책수준을 반영하는 연구가설을 도출하고 이를 검증한다. 이로부터 본 연구는 첫째, ICT 수준이 높을수록 OECD 국가의 에너지소비규모는 증가하지만, 에너지소비집중도는 오히려 개선되는 결과를 확인한다. 둘째, ICT와 에너지소비수준의 비선형적 관계가 발견되는 가운데, 에너지소비집중도에서 이러한 관계가 더욱 명확하게 나타난다. 마지막으로 기후변화 대응을 위한 정부의 환경정책수준이 높을수록 에너지소비집중도는 개선되는 결과가 나타난다. 이로부터 본 연구는 ICT의 복합적인 에너지소비양상을 확인하면서 ICT가 지속가능한 발전에 기여하는데 필요한 정책시사점과 함의를 제공하며, 후속연구의 필요성을 제시한다.

Abstract

This study conducts an empirical analysis of the relationships between ICT level, environmental policy, and energy consumption level in 23 OECD countries, including South Korea, utilizing the System GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) analysis method on panel data from 2010 to 2019. The research derives and tests hypotheses considering the non-linear relationship between ICT and energy consumption levels, with energy consumption scale and energy consumption intensity as dependent variables. The findings indicate that higher ICT usage leads to a partially statistically significant increase in the energy consumption scale, but more consistently results in an improvement in energy consumption intensity. Additionally, a statistically significant non-linear relationship is observed between ICT level and energy consumption, with this trend being more pronounced in the analysis of energy consumption intensity. These results suggest that, beyond the economic benefits of ICT, there is a notable improvement in energy efficiency, especially in OECD countries characterized by high economic and ICT levels. Moreover, stronger environmental policies in these countries do not significantly impact the energy consumption scale but do result in improved energy consumption intensity. This study thus identifies the bidirectional energy consumption patterns associated with ICT in OECD countries and demonstrates ICT's potential contribution to sustainable development. The research offers policy implications and underscores the need for further studies in this area.

Keywords:

ICT, energy consumption level, energy efficiency improvement, non-linear relationship, environmental policy, sustainable development

키워드:

에너지소비수준, 에너지효율개선, 비선형적 관계, 환경정책, 지속가능한 발전

Acknowledgments

이 연구는 2022년 대한민국 교육부와 한국연구재단의 지원을 받아 수행된 연구임(NRF-2022S1A5B5A17046536).

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