Impact of environmental quality, renewable and non-renewable energy and governance quality on sustainable development: evidence from emerging economies

Purpose The present study aims to examine the influence of environmental quality, renewable energy, non-renewable energy and quality of governance on sustainable development in two panels of 23 Asian and 8 European emerging countries during the 1996–2022 period. Design/methodology/approach The present study employed second-generation methods of panel data analysis, which account for cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity to achieve a more reliable conclusion. Findings The augmented mean group and common correlated effects mean group estimation findings exhibit the negative influence of environmental degradation and non-renewable energy on sustainable development, whereas the findings exhibit the positive effect of renewable energy and governance quality on sustainable development. Practical implications The findings point out to policymakers and governments the importance of the adoption and implementation of policies to protect the environment, as well as promoting renewable energy incentive policies. Moreover, enhancing governance quality and striving towards good governance is essential for the successful adoption and implementation of energy and environment policies, as well as achieving sustainable development goals. Originality/value The present research contributes to the existing related literature in several ways. Adjusted net saving (ANS) is employed as a comprehensive indicator of sustainable development and ecological footprint (EFP) is employed as an exhaustive indicator of the environment’s quality rather than carbon dioxide emissions. In overall, this study is the first, to the best of our awareness, to simultaneously consider ANS, EFP and governance quality for examining the relationship among energy, environmental quality and sustainable development, especially in Asian and European emerging economies.