Assessing the influence of green innovation and environmental policy stringency on CO2 emissions in BRICS

This article examines the effect of environmental policy stringency and green innovation on CO2 emissions in the BRICS nations, using annual data from 1990 to 2019 utilizing panel FMOLS and DOLS estimators and Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR). To this end, we estimate an equation in which CO2 emissions are explained by GDP, trade openness, nonrenewable and renewable energy consumption, the environmental stringency index, and green innovation, as measured by the number of patent applications for environmentally related inventions. FMOLS and DOLS results reveal that GDP, nonrenewable energy consumption, and trade openness have a positive effect on environmental pollution, whereas improvements in renewable energy consumption and environmental regulations lead to a drop in CO2 emissions. However, green innovation does not have a significant effect on CO2 emissions. MMQR estimates demonstrate that the GDP has a positive effect on CO2 emissions across all quantiles, suggesting that a higher degree of economic growth is associated with higher emissions. Based on findings, empirical evidence suggests that BRICS countries should follow the policies encouraging the reduction of nonrenewable energy consumption in the region without harming the development of the economy. Besides, policymakers should promote renewable energy consumption and enhance investment in green innovation to achieve sustainable development and environmental quality. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024.