Waste Management Strategies for Environmental Wellbeing: Exploring the Roles of Environmental Regulations and Green Finance in Reducing Carbon Intensity

Rising industrial activity, urban expansion, and economic growth continue to intensify waste generation and greenhouse gas emissions, placing growing pressure on environmental sustainability. In this setting, reducing the carbon intensity of electricity generation has become a key policy priority, particularly in advanced economies pursuing long-term decarbonization. Grounded in Ecological Modernization Theory and the Porter Hypothesis, this study examines the effects of waste management, environmental regulations, green finance, and economic growth on the carbon intensity of electricity generation in the G-6 economies, namely France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This article contributes to the literature in two ways. First, the paper ensures a focused assessment of the direct roles of waste management, environmental regulations, and green finance in shaping carbon intensity in advanced economies. Second, it investigates whether the effectiveness of green finance depends on the stringency of environmental regulation. Utilizing panel data of the 2000–2020 period, drawn from Our World in Data, the World Development Indicators, the OECD, and the IEA, the analysis employs the CS-ARDL and AMG estimators to address issues of cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. The findings show that waste management, environmental regulations, and economic growth reduce carbon intensity in the long run, whereas green finance on its own does not have a statistically significant effect. However, green finance becomes effective when combined with stricter environmental regulations. These findings underscore the importance of coordinated policy design and offer practical insights to advance progress toward SDGs 11, 12, and 13. © 2026 The Author(s). Sustainable Development published by ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.