Investigating the Relationship and Impact of Environmental Governance, Green Goods, Non-Green Goods and Eco-Innovation on Material Footprint and Renewable Energy in the BRICS Group

Abstract

The global climate is undergoing a significant and unprecedented transformation. The phenomenon presents a significant peril to the well-being of the human population, biodiversity, and the overall stability of the global ecosystem. This article explores the relationship and impact between environmental governance, green goods, non-green goods, and eco-innovation on material footprint and renewable energy for the BRICS countries from 2000 to 2019. We apply the FGLS and PCSE approaches to estimate the relationships, and the Dumitrescu and Hurlin test to ascertain causality. The study reveals that eco-innovation and environmental governance produce a statistically significant positive relationship with both material footprint and renewable energy consumption. Economic growth generates an insignificantly positive link with material footprint and renewable energy use. The findings also illustrate that non-green goods generate a significantly negative association with both material footprint and green energy use. Green goods depict a significant and positive relationship with material footprint, but a significantly negative relationship with renewable energy consumption in the BRICS situation. The causality results demonstrate a bi-directional causality association between non-green goods and material footprint, green goods and material footprint, renewable energy use and eco-innovation, renewable energy consumption and environmental governance, and renewable energy use and green goods. Moreover, a uni-directional causality relationship running from eco-innovation to material footprint, environmental governance to material footprint, non-green goods to renewable energy consumption, material footprint to economic development, and renewable energy consumption to economic growth is established. The study’s findings provide light on the association between the parameters and unsustainable and sustainable green practices on material footprint and renewable energy consumption, respectively, within the BRICS framework. These findings offer useful insights for policymakers, emphasizing the need for nations to work together in order to create a balanced and harmonious relationship between economic progress and environmental conservation from an emerging economy scale.