Climate policy uncertainty and greenhouse gas emissions in G7 countries: Policy recommendations for environmental sustainability

• The impact of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in G7 is probed. • We report that CPU surges GHG emissions at the middle and higher quantiles. • Findings from sensitivity analysis are consistent with baseline results. • We propose policies for SDG13. Since the inception of the 21st century, climate policy uncertainty (CPU) has been rising in G7 countries, which can impact economic and environmental sustainability. Therefore, the present empirical study explores the influence of CPU on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in G7 countries. The results from the method of moment quantile regression delineate that CPU upsurges GHG emissions at the middle and upper quantiles, indicating that CPU contributes to GHG emissions if emissions are at their average (mean) level or above. The findings from robustness analysis are also in line with baseline empirical outcomes. The findings recommend initiating measures to shrink the CPU. For instance, climate policies at the federal and state levels should be in line and should be announced for a long period.