Cross-sectional dependence of residuals.

One of the key contributors to climate change is energy consumption, with the type of energy used having implications on the natural environment and health of users. To promote environmental sustainability and sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 aims to achieve accessibility, and affordability of clean and modern forms of energy for all. This study aims to investigate the effects of women empowerment, corruption control, foreign direct investment, and sectoral growth on access to clean energy in Africa, as well as the effects of the interrelatedness of these factors on clean energy access. Using data on 32 countries in Africa from 2002 to 2021 and rigorous econometric techniques, the study finds that women empowerment and corruption control significantly increase access to clean energy in Africa while sectoral analyses show varying effects of growth in the different sectors on clean energy accessibility. Furthermore, it is found that corruption control is not able to reverse situations of adverse effects of some variables on access to clean energy in some cases, likely due to the low levels of corruption control in Africa. The results suggest that African countries could enhance access to clean energy for its citizens and harness the full potential of clean energy, to promote sustainable development and improve the lives of their population, by empowering women, fighting corruption, and cultivating balanced economic growth.能源消费是气候变化的关键驱动因素之一，所使用的能源类型会对自然环境与民众健康产生影响。为推动环境可持续性与可持续发展，可持续发展目标7（Sustainable Development Goal 7, SDG 7）旨在保障全体民众均可获取且负担得起清洁现代能源。本研究旨在探究女性赋权、腐败治理、外商直接投资以及部门增长对非洲清洁能源获取的影响，同时剖析上述因素的交互作用对清洁能源获取的效应。本研究采用2002年至2021年非洲32个国家的相关数据，并运用严谨的计量经济学方法开展分析，结果显示：女性赋权与腐败治理可显著提升非洲的清洁能源获取水平；而部门增长分析则表明，不同部门的增长对清洁能源可及性的影响存在异质性。此外，研究还发现，在部分情境下腐败治理无法抵消部分变量对清洁能源获取带来的负面影响，这大概率源于非洲地区的腐败治理水平偏低。研究结果表明，非洲各国可通过推进女性赋权、开展反腐败斗争以及培育均衡的经济增长，提升本国民众的清洁能源获取水平，充分释放清洁能源的发展潜力，进而推动可持续发展并改善民众生活。