The road to decarbonization in Australia. A Morlet wavelet approach

The path toward sustainable development is closely related to the intensification of renewable energy sources and the continual innovation of technologies. To evaluate the role of renewable energy consumption and technological innovations on carbon emissions in Australia, this study uses the Morlet wavelet approach. This study identified temporal and frequency variations by applying wavelet correlation, continuous wavelet transforms, and partial and multiple wavelet coherence methods on data from 2000 to 2021. The wavelet correlation revealed that non-renewable energy, globalization, and economic growth are positively correlated with carbon emissions at all scales. In contrast, carbon emissions are negatively correlated with renewable energy and technological innovation at all scales. Meanwhile, the wavelet coherence analysis shows that non-renewable energy contributes to increased CO₂ emissions from the short to long term, whereas renewable energy usage negatively affects CO₂ emissions across all frequency scales. The study findings indicate that increasing the proportion of renewable energy usage in the total energy mix will curb CO₂ emissions over the long run. Accordingly, the way to achieve sustainable development is shifting to a low-carbon economy centered on renewable energy sources, enhancing energy efficiency, and using carbon storage and capture technologies.