Achieving environmental sustainability through renewable energy transition in the Next Eleven countries: the importance of establishing sound democratic governance

The majority of the Next Eleven nations are yet to undergo the renewable energy transition in full swing. Rather, over time, these nations have become even more reliant on fossil fuels. As a result, establishing environmental sustainability is a matter of deep concern for these emerging nations. Against this backdrop, this study assesses the macroeconomic determinants of their annual carbon dioxide emission growth rates considering the period from 1991 to 2020. In a nutshell, the results from the econometric exercises affirm that undergoing renewable energy transition does not inhibit the emission growth rates of the Next Eleven nations unless sound policies are executed for promoting better democratic governance, in tandem. In this regard, improving the state of democratic governance is witnessed to act as a mediating factor between renewable energy transition and lower carbon dioxide emission growth rates. Besides, verifying the pollution haven hypothesis, incoming receipts of foreign direct investment are observed to boost the emission growth figures while liberalizing international trade barriers is found to be ineffective in influencing carbon emission growth rates. Lastly, a complementary relationship between population growth and carbon emission growth rates is affirmed by the results. Hence, considering these above mentioned findings, a set of policies is recommended for enabling the Next Eleven nations to achieve environmental sustainability in due course.