The era of global warming mitigation: The role of financial inclusion, globalization and governance institutions

Heliyon. 2023 Dec 13;10(1):e23471. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23471. eCollection 2024 Jan 15.

Abstract

Several efforts have been undertaken by environmentalists, nations, and various international organizations towards the fight against carbon emissions. The continuity of the environment has been one of the main concerns of the international system and state and non-state actors and government institutions are encouraged to play their roles effectively. Therefore, the study assesses the effect of financial inclusion, globalization, and government institutions on carbon emissions. The study used data from 1996 to 2021 and employed FMOLS model for the analysis. The findings of the study confirm the pollution halo hypothesis implying globalization promotes environmental sustainability. However, financial inclusion and government institutions have no significant effect on global warming mitigation. Nevertheless, institutional governance encourages global warming while political stability promotes the fight against global warming, the effect of economic governance is not significant. Renewable energy and economic growth exhibit positive and negative effect, respectively, on environmental sustainability. The findings suggest the encouragement of the rule of law, political stability, and an effective low carbon trading system as part of the policy implications.

Keywords: Economic growth; Environmental sustainability; Globalization; Government institutions; Renewable energy.