What shapes the ecological footprint in OECD countries?

Purpose Our study aims to analyze the determinants of ecological footprint on environmental quality in OECD countries with a particular focus on assessing whether institutional quality of governance measured by an index, improves environmental quality to support sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach In this context, we used the method of moments quantile regression for 30 OECD countries over the 1990/2022 period. Findings We show that renewable energy exerts a negative and significant influence on the ecological footprint across the entire distribution. Similarly technological innovation affect negatively and significantly the ecological footprint across all quantiles. Whereas natural resource rents are positively associated with the ecological footprint. Urbanization exerts a negative and statistically significant effect on the ecological footprint. Human capital exhibits a positive and statistically significant relationship with the ecological footprint across all quantiles, indicating that its accumulation tends to heighten environmental pressures. We show also a validity of the inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) pattern observed among OECD nations. Practical implications The findings carry important practical implications for policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders. Governments should accelerate investment incentives and tax exemptions for renewable energy projects. Expanding renewable infrastructure especially in wind, solar and bioenergy can deliver immediate reductions in ecological footprint. To regulate natural resource exploitation, governance must introducing or reinforcing environmental taxes on extractive industries can limit over-exploitation of natural resources and ensure sustainable rent use. To foster technological innovation, policymakers must adopt a long-term strategies should emphasize research and development in low-carbon technologies, circular-economy solutions and energy-efficient systems. To enhance governance effectiveness, institutional reforms should focus on enforcing environmental regulations, increasing transparency in resource management and combating regulatory capture. Originality/value This study stands out by using the ecological footprint instead of CO2 emissions to provide a more comprehensive measure of environmental degradation. Focusing on OECD countries, it offers new evidence supporting the EKC hypothesis and highlights the moderating role of institutional quality, with important policy insights for sustainable development.