Striving for the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs) in BRICS economies: The role of green finance, fintech, and natural resource rent

Abstract

AbstractIn terms of policy, the BRICS region has prioritized achieving environmental sustainability. Environmental problems are mostly caused by the area's continuous reliance on fossil fuels to meet its energy requirements. It is also challenging to significantly reduce the region's reliance on fossil fuels because historically, the region has been a big importer of fossil fuels. As a result, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission rates of the BRICS countries have been rising over time. Furthermore, the area has enormous untapped reserves of renewable energy sources that can be exploited to produce electricity without negatively impacting the ecosystem. In light of this, this research analyses, while controlling for energy innovation, economic growth, and natural resource rent, the combined effects of green finance (GFN) and financial technology (fintech) in reaching the region's carbon neutrality goals from 1990 to 2020. The findings for the BRICS economies, which are consistent with the EKC theory, imply that environmental sustainability is promoted by GFN, fintech, and energy innovation (ENI). NRR (natural resource rent) and GDP (economic growth) compromise environmental quality, nevertheless. It has also been demonstrated that there is a two‐way causal relationship between CO2 emissions and GFN, fintech, and NRR. However, it has been demonstrated that GDP and ENI have a one‐way causal relationship with CO2 emissions. It is recommended that the BRICS nations speed up the development of green financial products and increase the capacity of banks and financial institutions to offer green credit facilities based on the empirical findings. The basic study of how green finance solutions might be used while lowering the related risks should receive more funding.