Oil Prices, Financial Development, and Urbanization in the Renewable Energy Transition: Empirical Evidence from E-10 Countries

The factors influencing the use of renewable energy in ten significant emerging economies (E-10: Argentina, Brazil, China, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey) are examined in this study for the years 1990–2021. In order to capture both contemporaneous and intertemporal drivers of renewable energy demand, the analysis uses dynamic panel techniques (GMM) in conjunction with static panel estimations (fixed and random effects), drawing on a balanced panel dataset. The empirical findings highlight the path-dependent character of the energy transition by pointing to a clear persistence effect, in which previous renewable energy consumption significantly and favorably influences current levels. While oil prices and carbon emissions exert adverse pressures, economic growth and financial development are consistently recognized as key facilitators of the adoption of renewable energy. In several specifications, population growth appears as a constraining factor. Both static and dynamic models show that urbanization has a negative impact on the use of renewable energy. Therefore, incorporating renewable energy considerations into urban development policies may help reverse this trend and promote increased use of renewable energy. When combined, the results show how strategically important it is to promote economic growth, strengthen financial systems, and incorporate sustainability into urbanization processes. The urgent need to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, reroute financial resources toward green investment, and fortify carbon mitigation frameworks are among the policy implications. In the end, the evidence favors a multifaceted policy framework for the E-10 nations to hasten the switch to renewable energy.