Shaping Sustainable Futures in Innovative Economies: The Role of Environmental Technology, Renewable Energy R&D Spending, and Financial Globalization

ABSTRACT Despite growing policy emphasis on green technological innovation, renewable energy R&D, and globalization as pathways to environmental sustainability, the existing literature examines these factors largely in isolation and provides inconclusive evidence on their environmental effectiveness, particularly in highly innovative economies. Moreover, the literature largely relies on emission‐based indicators that capture environmental pressure but fail to account for the balance between ecological demand and biocapacity, limiting a comprehensive evaluation of sustainability outcomes. This research responds to these notable gaps by jointly estimating the influence of green technology, financial globalization, and renewable energy R&D investments on ecological quality in top innovation‐driven economies between 1990 and 2022. Environmental sustainability is measured using the load capacity factor, which captures the balance between ecological demand and biocapacity. Methodologically, the study employs the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to account for heterogeneity and nonlinear effects across different levels of environmental performance. The study validates the load capacity curve hypothesis, indicating a U‐shaped connection between income and load capacity factor. Renewable energy R&D investments and environmental technology substantially enhance ecological outcomes across most quantiles, reinforcing their importance in environmental restoration. On the other hand, financial globalization has a negligible influence, highlighting that capital openness alone might not ensure ecological enhancements. These outcomes underline the criticality of green energy investments and technology in improving ecological outcomes, directly supporting progress toward SDGs 7, 9, and 13 while suggesting that globalization alone does not guarantee ecological gains in top innovative economies.