Efficient directions for oil-producing developing countries to technically achieve low-carbon transition

Abstract

Abstract The transition of oil-producing developing countries to low-carbon energy industry is an important issue in the era of climate change. However, their transition is difficult due to economic and technological issues. This study applied data envelopment analysis and topic modeling to help establish effective low-carbon energy transition strategies to ensure sustainable technological development. First, the technological innovation efficiency for transition of 22 oil-producing developing countries was compared using data envelopment analysis, where research and development investment ratio, amount of natural gas reserves, and oil production were used as input variables, and the number of low-carbon energy-related Patent Cooperation Treaty applications from 2015 to 2019, categorized into five technological fields, were considered as output variables. The countries were clustered based on the DEA peer weights. Then, the technical areas to be benchmarked by the followers per group were identified using topic modeling and technological strategies were suggested to improve the efficiency of transition. Our research suggests that patent trends in frontier countries show a strong relationship with relevant policies and standards, leading to the introduction of technologies that support these standards. The findings of this study can contribute to establishing national low-carbon energy policies in oil-producing developing countries.