Moving toward sustainable development of sub-Saharan African countries: Investigating the effect of financial inclusion on environmental quality

The purpose of this current study is to provide a new framework for assessing the impact of financial inclusion on environmental quality in Sub-Saharan Africa countries. To this end, the impact of economic growth, education, natural resource usage, and remittances on carbon emissions, as well as financial inclusion, is evaluated over the 2004–2020 period using second generation panel data methods, namely, CS-ARDL and the following findings are found. Firstly, financial inclusion leads to enhanced carbon emissions. Secondly, economic growth leads to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. Thirdly, an improvement in education promotes the quality of the environment. Fourthly, the depletion of natural resources has a harmful effect on the environment. Fifthly, remittances result to an increase in carbon emissions. On the basis of these findings, policy recommendations are made to assist the aforementioned countries in achieving their sustainable development goals.