Charting a Sustainable Future: The Impact of Economic Policy, Environmental Taxation, Innovation, and Natural Resources on Clean Energy Consumption

Abstract

Energy availability especially that derived from renewable sources has sustainable effects on economic progress and environmental rectifications. However, using clean energy in the energy mix has been influenced by several macro fundamentals. The motivation of this study is to gauge the impact of uncertainties, environmental restrictions and innovation on clean energy consumption for the period 1997–2021 by employing the new econometric estimation techniques commonly known as CUP-FM and CUP-BC. Referring to the preliminary assessment with the slope of homogeneity, cross-sectional dependency and panel cointegration test, it is unveiled that research variables have exposed heterogeneity prosperities, cross-sectional dependence, and long-run association in the empirical equation. According to the empirical model output with CUP-FM and CUP-BC, EPU has a native statistically significant connection to clean energy consumption. At the same time, environmental taxation and technological innovation have had beneficial effects on clean energy development. Additionally, the nonlinear estimation disclosed asymmetric linkage between explanatory and explained variables in the long and short run. Directional causality revealed a feedback hypothesis explaining the relationship between EPU, TI and clean energy consumption. The study has offered policy suggestions based on the findings for future development.