Decarbonization of National Economies as a Spillover Effect of Integration: The Case of the EAEU

One of the implicit positive effects of interregional integration is the process of decarbonization of the economies of the integrating countries. The positive spillover effect of integration, which manifests itself in the form of technology diffusion, leads to a decrease in CO₂ emissions by displacing traditional industries and increasing the overall level of production efficiency. The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between technology development and a decrease in CO₂ emissions in the EAEU space. Using correlation analysis, the paper verifies the hypothesis that the positive spillover effect associated with technology diffusion contributes to the decarbonization of the EAEU economies. As a result of the analysis, it was found that there is a (multidirectional, asymmetric) statistically significant relationship between the studied variables - the level of technology development affects the level of CO₂ emissions. Moreover, the positive spillover effect of integration manifests itself with a time lag of 1 year, i.e. it does not act instantly (it is a dynamic effect of integration). The obtained results indicate that in more developed economies (in the case of the EAEU, this is Russia and Kazakhstan), the decarbonization effect from the introduction of new technologies is more pronounced than in less developed ones. The results of the study can be used to develop a strategy for the socio-economic development of the EAEU countries, taking into account the parameters of the technological development of the countries.