IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i9p3781-d1639951.html

The Impact of Sustainable Financial Development and Green Energy Transition on Climate Change in the World’s Highest Carbon-Emitting Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Mehdi Seraj

    (Department of Economics, Near East University, 99138 Nicosia, Cyprus)

  • Fatma Turuc Seraj

    (Department of Economics, Near East University, 99138 Nicosia, Cyprus)

Abstract

The increasing risks posed by climate change have turned CO 2 emissions into a pressing global issue, prompting the widespread adoption of sustainable development policies. This study investigates the empirical drivers of CO 2 emissions across 15 of the world’s highest carbon-emitting countries from 2000 to 2021, using a range of advanced panel data techniques. The core explanatory variables include green energy transition (GET), fossil fuel consumption (FFC), financial development (FD), mineral resource consumption (MRC), energy intensity (EI), and information and communication technology (ICT). By employing cross-sectional dependence tests, CIPS and CADF unit root tests, cointegration techniques (Westerlund and Dickey-Fuller), and Driscoll-Kraay standard error (DKSE) estimators, the study ensures robust and reliable inference. The findings reveal that a 1% increase in GET and FD leads to a 1.59% and 4.51% decrease in CO 2 emissions, respectively, while higher energy efficiency (EI) also significantly reduces emissions. In contrast, greater use of fossil fuels, mineral resources, and ICT expansion contributes positively to emissions. These results demonstrate the critical role of financial systems, clean energy investments, and energy efficiency in mitigating environmental degradation. The study offers targeted policy insights for countries aiming to balance economic growth with climate goals and highlights the need for enhanced technology transfer and financing mechanisms in low- and middle-income countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehdi Seraj & Fatma Turuc Seraj, 2025. "The Impact of Sustainable Financial Development and Green Energy Transition on Climate Change in the World’s Highest Carbon-Emitting Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3781-:d:1639951
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3781/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/9/3781/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Saleem H. Ali & Damien Giurco & Nicholas Arndt & Edmund Nickless & Graham Brown & Alecos Demetriades & Ray Durrheim & Maria Amélia Enriquez & Judith Kinnaird & Anna Littleboy & Lawrence D. Meinert & R, 2017. "Mineral supply for sustainable development requires resource governance," Nature, Nature, vol. 543(7645), pages 367-372, March.
    2. Zhang, Xing-Ping & Cheng, Xiao-Mei, 2009. "Energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2706-2712, August.
    3. Xiuqin Zhang & Xudong Shi & Yasir Khan & Majid Khan & Saba Naz & Taimoor Hassan & Chenchen Wu & Tahir Rahman, 2023. "The Impact of Energy Intensity, Energy Productivity and Natural Resource Rents on Carbon Emissions in Morocco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    4. Xiaohang Ren & Cheng Cheng & Zhen Wang & Cheng Yan, 2021. "Spillover and dynamic effects of energy transition and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions for the European Union: A dynamic spatial panel model," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(1), pages 228-242, January.
    5. Wang, Jianda & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2023. "Renewable energy transition in global carbon mitigation: Does the use of metallic minerals matter?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    6. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E., 2010. "Renewable energy consumption and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of OECD countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 656-660, January.
    7. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    8. Gen Li & Shihong Zeng & Tengfei Li & Qiao Peng & Muhammad Irfan, 2023. "Analysing the Effect of Energy Intensity on Carbon Emission Reduction in Beijing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-19, January.
    9. Marra, Alessandro & Colantonio, Emiliano & Cucculelli, Marco & Nissi, Eugenia, 2024. "The ‘complex’ transition: Energy intensity and CO2 emissions amidst technological and structural shifts. Evidence from OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    10. Ang, James B., 2009. "CO2 emissions, research and technology transfer in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2658-2665, August.
    11. Joakim Westerlund, 2008. "Panel cointegration tests of the Fisher effect," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 193-233.
    12. Pesaran, M. Hashem & Vanessa Smith, L. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2013. "Panel unit root tests in the presence of a multifactor error structure," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 175(2), pages 94-115.
    13. Joshua Aslan & Kieren Mayers & Jonathan G. Koomey & Chris France, 2018. "Electricity Intensity of Internet Data Transmission: Untangling the Estimates," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(4), pages 785-798, August.
    14. Tamazian, Artur & Chousa, Juan Piñeiro & Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2009. "Does higher economic and financial development lead to environmental degradation: Evidence from BRIC countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 246-253, January.
    15. Sadorsky, Perry, 2010. "The impact of financial development on energy consumption in emerging economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2528-2535, May.
    16. Hashem Pesaran, M. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2008. "Testing slope homogeneity in large panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 50-93, January.
    17. M. Hashem Pesaran & Yimeng Xie, 2024. "How to Detect Network Dependence in Latent Factor Models? A Bias-Corrected CD Test," CESifo Working Paper Series 11470, CESifo.
    18. Mais Sha'ban & Claudia Girardone & Anna Sarkisyan & Thankom Arun, 2023. "On the relationship between financial inclusion and bank performance," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 52(3), November.
    19. Al-Mulali, Usama & Saboori, Behnaz & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2015. "Investigating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 123-131.
    20. Wang, Zhaohua & Pham, Thi Le Hoa & Sun, Kaining & Wang, Bo & Bui, Quocviet & Hashemizadeh, Ali, 2022. "The moderating role of financial development in the renewable energy consumption - CO2 emissions linkage: The case study of Next-11 countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    21. Huang, Zilong & Ren, Xiaocong, 2024. "Impact of natural resources, resilient economic growth, and energy consumption on CO2 emissions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    22. Sorrell, Steve & Dimitropoulos, John & Sommerville, Matt, 2009. "Empirical estimates of the direct rebound effect: A review," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1356-1371, April.
    23. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    24. Wang, Qiang & Hu, Sailan & Li, Rongrong, 2024. "Could information and communication technology (ICT) reduce carbon emissions? The role of trade openness and financial development," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3).
    25. Dogan, Eyup & Seker, Fahri, 2016. "Determinants of CO2 emissions in the European Union: The role of renewable and non-renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 429-439.
    26. Chen, Yang & Shao, Shuai & Fan, Meiting & Tian, Zhihua & Yang, Lili, 2022. "One man's loss is another's gain: Does clean energy development reduce CO2 emissions in China? Evidence based on the spatial Durbin model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    27. Saleem H. Ali & Damien Giurco & Nicholas Arndt & Edmund Nickless & Graham Brown & Alecos Demetriades & Ray Durrheim & Maria Amélia Enriquez & Judith Kinnaird & Anna Littleboy & Lawrence D. Meinert & R, 2017. "Correction: Corrigendum: Mineral supply for sustainable development requires resource governance," Nature, Nature, vol. 547(7662), pages 246-246, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiayin Zhu & Xin Liu & Zihan Xu & Xingtao Zhang & Congcong Du & Yabin Guo & Ruixin Li, 2025. "Research on Operation Data Mining and Analysis of VRF Air-Conditioning Systems Based on ARM and MLR Methods to Enhance Building Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-31, October.
    2. Qian Liu & Ruilin Xiang & Qiming Yang & Shamsheer ul Haq, 2025. "Growth Versus Green: How Financial Development and Energy Transition Shape Environmental Sustainability in Emerging Economies," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Md Samsul Alam & Nicholas Apergis & Sudharshan Reddy Paramati & Jianchun Fang, 2021. "The impacts of R&D investment and stock markets on clean‐energy consumption and CO2 emissions in OECD economies," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 4979-4992, October.
    2. Zhao, Wen-Xuan & Samour, Ahmed & Yi, Kefu & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh, 2023. "Do technological innovation, natural resources and stock market development promote environmental sustainability? Novel evidence based on the load capacity factor," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Omri, Anis & Daly, Saida & Rault, Christophe & Chaibi, Anissa, 2015. "Financial development, environmental quality, trade and economic growth: What causes what in MENA countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 242-252.
    4. Kostakis, Ioannis & Arauzo-Carod, Josep-Maria, 2023. "The key roles of renewable energy and economic growth in disaggregated environmental degradation: Evidence from highly developed, heterogeneous and cross-correlated countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1315-1325.
    5. Boulanouar, Zakaria & Essid, Lobna & Omri, Anis, 2024. "Achieving carbon neutrality in emerging markets: The dual impact of energy transition investments on economic growth and carbon emissions," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PC).
    6. Xiaoxia Shi & Haiyun Liu & Joshua Sunday Riti, 2019. "The role of energy mix and financial development in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions’ reduction: evidence from ten leading CO2 emitting countries," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 36(3), pages 695-729, October.
    7. Yadong Liu & Asma Salman & Kamran Khan & Ch Kamran Mahmood & Carlos Samuel Ramos-Meza & Vipin Jain & Malik Shahzad Shabbir, 2025. "The effect of green energy production, green technological innovation, green international trade, on ecological footprints," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(9), pages 20985-20998, September.
    8. Omri, Anis, 2018. "Entrepreneurship, sectoral outputs and environmental improvement: International evidence," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 46-55.
    9. Kangyin Dong & Xiucheng Dong & Qingzhe Jiang, 2020. "How renewable energy consumption lower global CO2 emissions? Evidence from countries with different income levels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1665-1698, June.
    10. Nausheen Atta & Ayyoob Sharifi, 2025. "A review of the knowledge structure and trends in research on the interlinkages between the rule of law and environmental sustainability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 2216-2249, April.
    11. Ranjan Aneja & Manisha Yadav & Sanjeev Gupta, 2024. "The dynamic impact assessment of clean energy and green innovation in realizing environmental sustainability of G‐20," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2454-2473, June.
    12. Amuakwa-Mensah, Franklin & Näsström, Elin, 2022. "Role of banking sector performance in renewable energy consumption," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PB).
    13. Sun, Huaping & Samuel, Clottey Attuquaye & Kofi Amissah, Joshua Clifford & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Mensah, Isaac Adjei, 2020. "Non-linear nexus between CO2 emissions and economic growth: A comparison of OECD and B&R countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    14. Zhang, Zhenhua & Zhao, Mingcheng & Zhang, Xinyu & Huang, Zhaohan & Feng, Yanchao, 2025. "What is the causal relationship among geopolitical risk, financial development, and energy transition ? Evidence from 25 OECD countries," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 104(PA).
    15. Amir Iqbal & Wei Zhang & Sayeda Jahangir, 2025. "Building a Sustainable Future: The Nexus Between Artificial Intelligence, Renewable Energy, Green Human Capital, Geopolitical Risk, and Carbon Emissions Through the Moderating Role of Institutional Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-40, January.
    16. Clement Olalekan Olaniyi & Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al‐Faryan & Eyitayo Oyewunmi Ogbaro, 2025. "Do institutional quality and its threshold matter in the sensitivity of the renewable energy transition to financial development? New empirical perspectives," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 5-43, January.
    17. Mumin Atalay Cetin & Ibrahim Bakirtas, 2020. "The long-run environmental impacts of economic growth, financial development, and energy consumption: Evidence from emerging markets," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(4), pages 634-655, June.
    18. Jin, Taeyoung, 2022. "The evolutionary renewable energy and mitigation impact in OECD countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 570-586.
    19. Khan, Anwar & Chenggang, Yang & Hussain, Jamal & Kui, Zhou, 2021. "Impact of technological innovation, financial development and foreign direct investment on renewable energy, non-renewable energy and the environment in belt & Road Initiative countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 479-491.
    20. Ali Celik & Ebru Gul Yilmaz & Sukran Kahveci & Gonca Yilmaz, 2025. "Do Technological Advances Promote Ecological Sustainability? Evidence from Panel Causality Analysis for the Dirtiest and Cleanest Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(5), pages 17292-17327, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:9:p:3781-:d:1639951. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask MDPI Indexing Manager to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.