Sustainable Development Goals Agenda Research Articles

Persistent inequities in maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean, 1990–2019

BackgroundDespite the resources and personnel mobilized in Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR, maternal deaths per 100 000 live births) in women aged 10–54 years by 75% between 2000 and 2015, the region failed to meet the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) due to persistent barriers to access quality reproductive, maternal, and neonatal health services.MethodsUsing 1990–2019 data from the Global Burden of Disease project, we carried out a two-stepwise analysis to (a) identify the differences in the MMR temporal patterns and (b) assess its relationship with selected indicators: government health expenditure (GHE), the GHE as percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the availability of human resources for health (HRH), the coverage of effective interventions to reduce maternal mortality, and the level of economic development of each country.FindingsIn the descriptive analysis, we observed a heterogeneous overall reduction of MMR in the region between 1990 and 2019 and heterogeneous overall increases in the GHE, GHE/GDP, and HRH availability. The correlation analysis showed a close, negative, and dependent association of the economic development level between the MMR and GHE per capita, the percentage of GHE to GDP, the availability of HRH, and the coverage of SBA. We observed the lowest MMRs when GHE as a percentage of GDP was close to 3% or about US$400 GHE per capita, HRH availability of 6 doctors, nurses, and midwives per 1,000 inhabitants, and skilled birth attendance levels above 90%.ConclusionsWithin the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, health policies aimed at the effective reduction of maternal mortality should consider allocating more resources as a necessary but not sufficient condition to achieve the goals and should prioritize the implementation of new forms of care with a gender and rights approach, as well as strengthening actions focused on vulnerable groups.

Navigating challenges and opportunities: AI's contribution to Pakistan's sustainable development goals agenda - a narrative review.

Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) were introduced by the United Nations to ensure the sustainable progress of mankind through various domains. Pakistan, a low-middle-income country, faces many challenges in achieving SDGs. Artificial Intelligence is a rapidly evolving technology presenting significant importance in achieving SDGs. Therefore, this narrative review aimed to evaluate the artificial intelligence technologies that have been utilized globally and nationally which can be implemented in Pakistan focusing on Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) of SDGs. AI has been utilized primarily in high-income countries aiming to improve healthcare, thereby progressing towards achieving different targets of Goal 3 of SDGs. Pakistan lacks such initiatives with modest to no improvement across different SDGs. Therefore, Pakistan can adapt initiatives undertaken by resourceful countries to achieve its own SDGs.

Delineating suitable zones for solar-based groundwater exploitation using multi-criteria analysis: A techno-economic assessment for meeting sustainable development goals (SDGs)

While several articles have focused on determining a suitability map for groundwater exploitation by assigning weights to different thematic layers, this technique suffers from a lack of worldwide application because it focuses on the features of a specific region (terrain features, vegetation, and climate) during the investigation. To overcome this drawback, we expanded the evaluation method of groundwater exploitation by integrating the region characteristics and topography with the three pillars of sustainability outlined by the SDGs agenda. Seven thematic layers, reflecting the economic and technical characteristics of El-Saloum depression, Egypt, were prepared to develop a solar energy-based groundwater suitability map. It was depicted that about 11.5%, 29.3%, and 44.0% of the total depression were classified into “Most’, “Moderate”, and “Marginal” suitable locations, respectively. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the southeastern zone of the depression emerged as the most suitable site for solar-groundwater utilization due to its low salinity (<5000 ppm), reasonable groundwater depths (less than 50 m), and land availability (undeveloped regions). Substituting a diesel power system (DPS) with a photovoltaic system (PVS) in groundwater pumping and/or reverse osmosis (RO) desalination would reduce 1.2 kg CO2/kWh and maintain a payback period of 6.4 years with a cost of energy (COE) of ∼0.25 US$/kWh. Applying PVS for groundwater management could fulfill about 25.0%, 37.5%, 40.0%, and 20.0% of sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2 “Zero hunger”, 6 “Clean water and sanitation”, 7 “Affordable and clean energy”, 13 “Climate action”. The achievement of these SDGs was equivalent to 22.7%, 15.4%, and 13.2% of the environmental, economic, and social pillars of sustainability, respectively. Consequently, the study's findings are crucial for stakeholders and policymakers involved in the sustainable management of groundwater resources within the SDGs umbrella.

Measuring the knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and behaviors of Filipino Teacher education students toward sustainability during the pandemic

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 crisis has immensely impacted the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. The integration of the SDG in the teacher education curriculum could contribute to the intensification of the SDG which is called for among higher education institutions. Hence, this article assessed 238 randomly selected pre-service teachers’ knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and behavior toward sustainability during the pandemic. The study applied correlation design through an online survey complemented with a qualitative approach. ANOVA and multiple regression were applied as inferential statistics. Students who were actively engaged in sustainability efforts during quarantine served as discussants during the Focus Group Discussion. Findings revealed that a significant relationship exists among the variables of knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and behavior toward sustainability. However, only awareness and attitudes can predict their behavior toward sustainability. Based on the illustrative examples in the qualitative results, students’ attitudes and beliefs about sustainability include engaging in sustainable teaching-learning practices, project-based learning, environmental practices, introspection, and school-community collaboration. In addition, the sustainability practices of the students during the pandemic included tree planting, conserving resources, recycling, and campaigning for the environment. Utilizing the proposed SUSTAINtegrate toolkit is a useful teaching resource to incorporate the critical principle of sustainability into the curriculum. Educational institutions can promote awareness about sustainability through project-based learning and integrate sustainability into the teaching syllabus, instructional materials, and teaching-learning practices. Environmental and educational sustainability attitudes should be fostered among the students through introspection, school-community collaboration, and a value-laden sustainable society.

Recycling of Egyptian Shammi Corn Stalks for Maintaining Sustainable Cement Industry: Scoring on Sustainable Development Goals

This study focuses on recycling Shammi corn stalks in the cement industries, further avoiding air and soil pollution caused by their improper disposal. This crop residue was thermally treated at 700 °C for 2 h under an oxygen-rich environment to produce Shammi corn stalk ash (SCSA). This SCSA was used as a cement replacement material (2–10%, w/w), whereas the control sample included only cement. The compressive strength values for the 4% (w/w) replacement ratio at 2-, 7-, and 28-day ages were greater than those for the control by 26.5%, 15.8%, and 11.4%, respectively. This 4% (w/w) also maintained a better flexural strength than other mixtures, with proper initial and final setting times (135 and 190 min), workability (18.5 cm), and water consistency (27.5%). These mechanical/physical properties were integrated with socio-enviro-economic data collected from experts through a pairwise comparison questionnaire, forming the inputs of a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model. Recycling SCSA in the cement-manufacturing process attained positive scores in the achievement of the three pillars of sustainable development, revealing an overall score greater than the control. Hence, the study outcomes could be essential in developing green concrete, cement blocks, and mortar, based on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) agenda.

Incremental Green Investment Rule Induction Using Intelligent Rough Sets from an Energy Perspective

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda has stated the importance of green investment. Energy-related green investment involves intricate economic behavior and ecological objectives. Green investment definitely requires agile decisions, e.g., rule-based decisions, to respond to changes outside the country. The identification of significant rules with numerous result features and the assurance of the stability and robustness of the rules in decision-making are crucial for green energy investment. The rough set (RS) methodology works well for processing qualitative data that are difficult to examine with traditional statistical methods in order to induce decision rules. The RS methodology starts with the analysis of the limits of discernibility of a subset of objects belonging to the domain to induce rules. However, traditional RS methods cannot incrementally generate rules with outcome features when new objects are added, which frequently occurs in green energy investment with the inclusion of big data. In this paper, an intelligent RS approach is proposed. This approach effectively identifies the rules that either stay the same or are altered based on four classified cases after a new object is introduced; it is novel because it can deal with a complicated investment environment by imposing multiple outcome features, specifically when it is required to flexibly extract new decision rules via adding new data sets.

Transdisciplinary approaches to local sustainability: aligning local governance and navigating spillovers with global action towards the Sustainable Development Goals

AbstractIn an evolving world, effectively managing human–natural systems under uncertainty becomes paramount, particularly when targeting the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The complexity in multi-actor decision-making and multi-sectoral settings, coupled with intricate relationships and potential conflicting management approaches, makes understanding the local implications of progressing towards the global SDGs challenging. We used a transdisciplinary approach for knowledge co-production with local stakeholders to assess the impact of local action to boost sustainability in the Goulburn–Murray region, Victoria, Australia, and its alignment with global action towards the SDGs. Together, we co-developed 11 local actions geared towards achieving four locally important environmental and socioeconomic SDGs, with a particular emphasis on addressing potential ‘spillovers’—unintended effects that influence SDGs across scales. Through system dynamics modelling, we evaluated the interplay between these local actions and global scenarios, emphasising their synergies, trade-offs, and the resulting impact on SDG indicators. Key findings indicate a predominant synergy between global and local actions across most SDG indicators. However, certain areas like dairy production, riverine algal blooms, and agricultural profit displayed trade-offs. Local actions significantly impacted indicators, such as crop production, dairy output, agricultural land use, and agricultural profitability. Findings highlighted the need for complementary actions in areas, such as water availability management, skilled workforce, and salinity control. This study underscored the importance of harmonising local initiatives with global sustainability objectives and can inspire local governance to champion resilience policies that harmoniously integrate local actions with global sustainability goals, adapting to evolving uncertainty scenarios. Graphical abstract

Climate policy and the SDGs agenda: how does near-term action on nexus SDGs influence the achievement of long-term climate goals?

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) represent the global ambition to accelerate sustainable development. Several SDGs are directly related to climate change and policies aiming to mitigate it. This includes, among others, the set of SDGs that directly influence the climate, land, energy, and water (CLEW) nexus (SDGs 2, 6, 7, 13, 15). This study aims at understanding the synergies and trade-offs between climate policy and the SDGs agenda: how does near-term action on SDGs influence long-term climate goals? Based on a multi-model comparison, we evaluate three scenarios: (i) reference; (ii) climate mitigation; and (iii) a CLEW nexus SDGs scenario. We find clear positive effects of combining the climate and the sustainable development agendas. Notably, healthier diets, with reduced meat consumption, have strong co-benefits for climate, with positive effects across multiple SDGs: improvements in food security, reductions in air pollution and water stress, and improvements in biodiversity conservation. Such positive outcomes are prominent in the Global South, where regions typically at higher risk of food and energy insecurity and other environmental stresses (e.g. Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America) benefit from a shorter term agenda focusing not only on the climate but also on the other sustainable development dimensions. However, trade-offs are also observed (e.g. increases in the prices of food and electricity), especially in the dynamics of land and the food systems, highlighting the importance of exploring policy synergies: if individually applied, some measures can negatively impact other sustainability goals, while taking into consideration the nexus interactions can reduce trade-offs and increase co-benefits. Finally, near-term action on SDGs can help speed up the transition towards the long-term climate goals, reducing the reliance on negative emissions options. In 2100, the SDG scenario in significantly less reliant on carbon dioxide removals both from AFOLU and the energy system.

Governance for the implementation of the sustainable development goals in tourism: a 2050 horizon paper

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the capability of current governance models to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the tourism sphere and propose a broad model of governance to support the SDGs agenda. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the existing literature and uses it as a basis for developing a model of governance. The proposed model is inspired by recent studies that discuss the implementation of the SDGs agenda in tourism and on Fennell’s (2019) framework for tourism ethics. Findings The study proposes a multi-level model of governance that espouses the need for a stronger supranational system that curtails the power of both governments and the private sector. It also emphasizes the need to identify hypernorms that delimit the capacity for action at the various levels and which are determined by accessing varied stakeholders’ views within this system at the international level. Originality/value This paper proposes a model of governance for the implementation of the SDGs as a foothold for future discussions. It highlights the main challenges that may be faced in the implementation of such a system and suggests several avenues for future research.

Assessment of students' awareness, knowledge, and accessibility of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations came into effect on 1st January 2016. The SDGs focus on global efforts to end poverty and discrimination and ensure the peace and well-being of all. The agenda is based on certain themes such as people, plants, prosperity, peace and partnership. Despite the fact that it has been endorsed by 193 countries, its success is contingent on the country's ability to implement effective SDG projects using the Global Thinking, Local Action (GLOBAL) method. Higher education students, as members, have a higher level of awareness, knowledge and accessibility about the SDGs. With this level of awareness, knowledge, and accessibility, they can actively promote and accomplish the SDGs by using their academic background. In view of this, the primary goal of this empirical paper is to assess the level of awareness, knowledge and accessibility about all 17 SDGs, including SDG 4 quality education among higher education students in Vellore District, Tamil Nadu, India.

Training Future Managers to Address the Challenges of Sustainable Development: An Innovative, Interdisciplinary, and Multiregional Experience on Corporate Sustainability Education

This paper presents an innovative experience involving students and professors from diverse backgrounds and regions that was designed to integrate corporate sustainability (CS) knowledge into undergraduate programs. An action research approach was adopted, with the course running over one semester. The course involved 146 students with diverse academic backgrounds from universities across Brazil along with eight professors from Brazil, Chile, and South Africa. The proposed approach provides actionable insights into the integration of sustainability concepts in the higher educational setting, thereby contributing to the development of a more environmentally and socially conscious generation of professionals. The learning outcomes are discussed in the light of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Agenda, particularly SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), and SDG 13 (climate action). In addition, it is important to highlight that the dissemination of the course’s key features can be useful for universities, professors, and researchers engaged in training future professionals capable of addressing real-world problems of innovation and sustainability. By employing an action research methodology and fostering collaboration among students and professors with diverse academic backgrounds and from different countries, including Brazil, Chile, and South Africa, this paper presents a multiregional and interdisciplinary perspective that sets it apart from conventional practices. The emphasis on providing actionable insights and its potential applicability for universities, professors, and researchers involved in training future professionals further underscore its distinctive contribution to education for sustainable development.

Evaluating airports' Sustainable Development Goals by using multi-criteria decision making methodologies.

The recent growth of the aviation industry, which poses significant environmental challenges, has heightened the pressure on the sustainability of airports. Airport sustainability requires a holistic approach that encompasses economic, social, environmental, and operational aspects. In this regard, the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Agenda provides a roadmap for the aviation industry. However, despite recognizing the importance of SDGs, aviation authorities and airports often fail to effectively integrate them into their activities and annual reports. This study aims to evaluate the significance of SDGs for airports and select the airport that prioritizes SDGs the most using Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodologies. This study introduces a novel approach that integrates Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) methods, which are MCDM techniques, to enhance airport sustainability. The SWARA method is employed to evaluate and assign weights to the SDGs in the context of airports. SDG 8 holds the highest level of significance among the goals concerning airports, while SDG 14 falls outside the scope of airport sustainability aspects. Then, five international airports that have been designated as green airports by aviation authorities and assessment organizations are selected, and the optimal alternative is determined using the WASPAS method, considering the weights obtained through SWARA. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is the top choice due to its successful implementations and reports aligning with the SDGs.

Technical and Vocational Education and Training toward Sustainable Development of Japan’s Aid Effectiveness for Industrial Human Resource Development in Lower Mekong Basin Countries

The Official Development Assistance (ODA) is Japan’s salient foreign policy in the Lower Mekong Basin (LMB) Country, especially for industrial human resource development. Japan has established KOSEN, a Japanese engineering vocational education system in the region to promote the industrial acceleration agenda and the region’s economic, social development, and poverty reduction toward the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, ODA is about more than giving and receiving; it is about actors and administration, including the vis-à-vis mutual benefit for both donor and recipient country, which becomes a debatable issue. This research intends to shed light on the efficacy of Japanese ODA toward LMB by applying the principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and its impact on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) attainment. A qualitative technique with a deductive approach was used to analyze the efficiency of Japan’s aid for KOSEN, including an in-depth interview with a purposive sampling technique of three key informants in this study. The study showed that the donor country predominantly adheres to the assistance ownership concept. Nonetheless, developing the KOSEN system as an assistance program in the area can contribute to the SDGs as hard tool mechanisms and KOSEN values as a soft mechanism related to the 2012 Global Agenda for Greening TVET.

Igal Ritual Theatre: A Cultural Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Perspective

This study explains the spiritual aspect of igal ritual theatre. It justifies the relationship between the concept of Cultural Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the role of the igal ritual theatre in the well-being of society and the preservation of heritage. This research applies the ethnographic method through an 'inductive phenomenological character' approach. The result explains how the igal ritual theatre relates to the concept of Cultural SDGs presented by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). This study affirms that igal ritual theatre aligns with the agenda of the Cultural SDGs to improve society and preserve heritage.

Monitoring Access to Child Medicines: Introducing a Standardized Set of Age-Appropriate Medicines.

Monitoring access to pediatric medicines as part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda for 2030 requires surveying age-appropriate medicines. This study aimed to develop tracer sets of essential age-appropriate medicines for use in SDG indicator 3.b.3 or in conjunction with other methodologies for monitoring access to medicines. Two sets of medicines were developed, one for young children (1 month to 5 years) and one for school-aged children (5-12 years). Priority diseases were selected based on the global burden of disease and linked to active ingredients of first choice according to treatment guidelines and the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Medicines for Children (EMLc). To ensure clinical relevance, the Delphi technique was employed to identify areas of (dis)agreement among clinical pediatric experts. During two consultation rounds, experts were invited to indicate (dis)agreement. Five experts per age group were largely in agreement with the initial selections, but various therapeutic alternatives were suggested for addition. A second consultation round with five experts did not lead to major adjustments. The final sets included 26 treatment options for both groups. Specific age-appropriate formulations were selected from the WHO EMLc 2023. These two globally representative tracer sets of medicines consider the particular needs of children and could aid countries in the critical monitoring of accessibility to pediatric medicines.

Does foreign direct investment influence carbon emission-related environmental problems?Contextual evidence from developing countriesacross Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sub-Saharan African nations face multifacetedenvironmental problems, especially those associated with carbon discharges. Hence, this study calculates a composite carbon index in the context of 39 developing nations from this region and uses it as a proxy for the carbon emission-related environmental problems they have faced during the 2000-2020 period. This index is estimated by utilizing data regarding annual carbon dioxide discharges, output-based carbon productivityrates, and energy consumption-based carbon intensity levels in the concerned countries. Hence, policy takeaways from this study have critical relevance for the selected sub-Saharan African nations to help them achieve the objectives related to the Sustainable Development Goals agenda and the Paris Accord. Overall, the findings from the econometric analysesverify that morereceipt of foreign direct investment initially raises but later on reduces environmental problems. Thus, the nexus concerning these variables depicts an inverse U-shape. Besides, the results endorse that greening the energy consumption structures of the sampled sub-Saharan African countries helps to abate their environmental problems in the long runwhile financial development aggravates the extent of environmental adversitiesthat take place. Lastly, improving the quality of regulatory agencies enables the Sub-Saharan African nations to furthermitigate their environmental problems. Moreover, these aforementionedfindings are observed to be heterogeneous across low- and middle-income categories of the selected Sub-Saharan African countries. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the findings is also confirmed by the outcomes derived from the country-specific analyses. Nevertheless, these nations should attract clean energy-embodying foreign direct investment, make their energy consumption structures greener by amplifying renewable energy adoptionrates, introduce green fundsto develop their financial sectors, and make theirenvironmental regulatory agencies more transparent with their activities.

Difficulties experienced by Latin American oil and gas companies in the integrated adoption of practices aligned with the UN SDGs

Purpose This paper aims to understand the difficulties faced by Latin American oil and gas (O&amp;G) companies in adopting integrated practices aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Agenda. Design/methodology/approach A Delphi study was conducted with 14 experts with extensive knowledge and experience in the O&amp;G sector to collect opinions and investigate sustainable practices in the Latin American context. Findings A consensus was reached after two rounds, demonstrating a unified view of sustainability experts on the difficulties faced by O&amp;G companies to adopt practices aligned with the SDGs. The difficulties identified through the Delphi method were allocated into five clusters named: “public sector and governments,” “civil society,” “corporate issues,” “technology and innovation” and “financial aspects.” These clusters were used to discuss the main challenges associated with implementing business practices that recognize the SDGs and their achievement as a synergistic reinforcing system rather than an additive structure. Originality/value This study provides further insights into the underexplored subject relating to the challenges experienced by Latin American O&amp;G companies in the implementation of the SDGs, adopting the perspective of academic and industry experts in this field. The findings can help professionals in O&amp;G companies implement sustainable practices, policymakers in debates about futures laws and regulations and academic in future research.

Adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights for ethnic minority girls in Vietnam.

There has been significant progress in improved adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR) for girls across low- to- middle-income countries (LMICs). However, progress has been uneven, and disparities persistent across and within countries. For example, Vietnam is one of only nine countries to have achieved the 2015 maternal mortality rate (MMR) target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a nation, but for some sub-populations, progress has been much slower, and MMR is more than twice that the national average. Ensuring equity is a current focus of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda that seeks to Leave No One Behind. This paper explores some of these inequities and potential drivers for ethnic minority adolescent girls in Vietnam, with a specific focus on the Tay community, the largest ethnic minority group in Vietnam. This paper highlights the challenges to progress, including areas where there is still limited evidence about the range of socio-cultural factors that may determine sexual and reproductive health outcomes for Tay adolescent girls. In the era of the SDGs, Vietnam's national policy platforms and current aid architecture provide a solid basis on which to build research, policy and practice investments that improve the health of adolescent ethnic minority girls in Vietnam.

Carbon Tax Study As A Social Engineering Tool in Realizing The Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia

Meningkatnya emisi gas rumah kaca (GRK) menjadi suatu ancaman bagi dunia setelah pandemi COVID-19 mulai terkendali. Dunia berkomitmen untuk menurunkan emisi karbon, tak terkecuali Indonesia. Komitmen tersebut diproyeksikan dalam kebijakan pajak karbon dalam Undang-Undang Harmonisasi Peraturan Perpajakan sebagai instrumen ekonomi lingkungan hidup. Pajak karbon berfungsi regulerend yang dalam hal ini mengatur pola konsumsi terhadap energi tidak terbarukan yang menghasilkan emisi karbon. Fungsi lain pajak karbon adalah menambah penerimaan negara atau menjalankan fungsi budgeter. Pada praktiknya, upaya penerapan pajak karbon menemui suatu dilema. Dilema tersebut dianalisis dalam penelitian ini menggunakan penelitian hukum normatif dengan pendekatan perundang-undangan, pendekatan perbandingan yang mengkomparasi aturan pajak karbon di beberapa negara, dan pendekatan historis yang menelaah latar belakang dari munculnya peraturan mengenai pajak karbon. Hasil penelitian dalam penulisan ini menunjukkan bahwa: Pertama, masih ditemukan problem regulasi, struktural, dan kultur pada pengaturan pajak karbon di Indonesia saat ini. Kedua, pajak karbon potensial untuk menurunkan tingkat emisi karbon sekaligus memberikan sumber pendapatan bagi negara sehingga berperan bagi pertumbuhan ekonomi dan diproyeksikan dapat menjalankan misi penurunan emisi karbon pada agenda Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Can undergoing renewable energy transition assist the BRICS countries in achieving environmental sustainability?

The BRICS countries ratified the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda whereby ensuring environmental sustainability is of paramount importance for these emerging market economies. Although the BRICS nations have recorded noteworthy economic growth trajectories over the last couple of decades, these nations have not fared well in terms of improving their environmental indicators, especially due to gradually becoming more fossil fuel dependent over time. Hence, this study aims to explore whether undergoing the renewable energy transition can directly and indirectly establish environmental sustainability in the BRICS countries by containing their annual growth rates of carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, the emission growth rate-influencing effects of technological innovation, foreign direct investment receipts, urbanization, and institutional quality are also evaluated. Based on data spanning from 1996 to 2021 and considering the result obtained using advanced panel data estimators, the findings endorse that the yearly carbon emission growth rates are (a) unaffected by undergoing the renewable energy transition on its own; (b) positively impacted by technological innovation, net receipts of foreign direct investment, and urbanization; and (c) negatively impacted by improving institutional quality through effective controlling of the spread of corruption. More importantly, the results verify the joint carbon emission growth rate-mitigating impact of renewable energy transition and institutional quality improvement. Hence, for abating the emission growth rate figures, several policies are prescribed.