Impact of Climate Change Policies on Sustainable Development

The study explores the impact of policies adopted to confront climate change on sustainable development indicators, specifically renewable energy consumption across different countries, using indicators of carbon dioxide emissions, carbon taxes, the percentage of electricity output from renewable energy sources, and the contribution of the agricultural sector to emissions as indicators of sustainable development. The paper used a quantitative method, considering actual data from 2009 to 2021 and projected data until 2050, to study the effect of climate change policies on sustainable development indicators in 13 developing countries compared to some developed countries. The findings indicate that economic expansion in underdeveloped nations prioritizes economic development above environmental objectives. As a result, substantial environmental challenges, including ecosystem disruption, climate change, and its grave implications, such as air and water pollution and rising sea levels, are seen as unintended outcomes of the development process. The findings indicate that developing nations are more susceptible to the impacts of climate change, owing to their limited adaptive ability and excessive reliance on natural resources for their welfare. Developing nations have significant environmental challenges since environmental deterioration and climate change disproportionately impact impoverished countries. However, companies must contribute to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions without compromising their economic growth. The economic downturn in emerging nations may compromise their capacity to tackle urgent issues such as poverty, insufficient healthcare, elevated unemployment rates, and gender inequality.