Towards Sustainability in African Countries: Do Innovation, Clean Energy, and Energy Productivity Matter?

ABSTRACT Previous studies have highlighted innovation and clean energy use as critical mechanisms for fostering ecological sustainability but have ignored the possible effect of energy productivity. An empirical study that offers evidence‐based policy recommendations on the joint impact of green innovation, clean energy, and energy productivity, as measured by the load capacity factor (LCF), to bolster Africa's ecological sustainability is rare. To fill this gap, this study investigates the synergistic dynamic effects of green innovation, clean energy, and energy productivity on Africa's LCF from 1990 to 2021, while controlling for economic growth. Results from cutting‐edge, intriguing momentum quantile regression (MMQR) indicate that green technologies had minimal beneficial ecological effects across the selected African countries. The asymmetric link between economic growth and ecological sustainability exhibits an inverted‐U‐shaped pattern across the African countries analyzed. The results also show that energy productivity, clean energy, and resource efficiency all mitigate the ecological deterioration impact. Additionally, the interaction between renewable energy and green technologies appeared to reduce ecological degradation (Q10 and Q25), reinforcing the relevance of clean energy transition and green technologies upgrade as a fundamental milestone for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG‐7) and ecological sustainability. The findings offer substantial insights that could guide policymakers and authorities on how to develop sound policies and strategies to improve ecological sustainability in Africa.