Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals Through Renewable Energy Transition, Trade Diversification, and Human Capital: Evidence From NEXT‐11 Economies

Rapid economic expansion in the NEXT‐11 countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, and Vietnam) has intensified environmental challenges, particularly in relation to carbon emissions and resource inefficiencies. Achieving sustainable development requires identifying the structural factors that can simultaneously support economic growth and mitigate environmental degradation. This study explores the long‐run nexus among CO2 emissions, intellectual capital (ICP), trade diversification (TRD), and the renewable energy transition (RET) in the NEXT‐11 economies from 1990 to 2022. Employing the advanced Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), the results reveal that a 1% increase in RET reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 0.42%–0.67% across quantiles, while TRD and ICP lower emissions by 0.31%–0.55% and 0.28%–0.49%, respectively. These effects are stronger in higher‐emission quantiles, highlighting the pivotal role of clean energy, export sophistication, and human capital development in achieving environmental sustainability. Robustness checks using Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) validate these findings. The evidence suggests that economies with trade structures dominated by low‐value or less specialized products face heightened CO2 emissions, whereas investments in ICP and the shift toward renewable energy enhance green growth and sustainable development outcomes. Policy implications underscore the need to integrate renewable energy, TRD, and human capital development strategies to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 7, 8, and 13).