The contribution of technological innovation, trade and economic development to renewable energy use in the United Kingdom, Germany and Turkey

Abstract This paper examines the causal impact of the technological innovation, trade openness and economic growth on the renewable energy use (RE) in Germany, the United Kingdom and Turkey. To this end, Breitung and Candelon ( Journal of Econometrics , 2006, 132, 363) causality test linked to Toda and Yamamoto ( Journal of Econometrics , 1995, 66, 225) procedure is applied on data for the period 1985–2021. Our results indicate that the German RE is mainly affected by the technological innovation and economic growth, but over the long‐term. Regarding the United Kingdom, its RE dynamics is found to be significantly impacted by the technological progress, trade openness and output growth all together, but only during the long‐run. However, in Turkey, the RE long‐term pattern is mainly led by the technological innovation, while the RE short‐term dynamics is primarily drown by the trade openness. This study provides policymakers a better understanding of RE pattern to formulate appropriate policies dealing with energy security, sustainable development and environmental pollution.