Disaggregated energy consumption and ecological footprint: proposing an SDG framework for newly industrialised countries

This paper considers newly industrialised countries (NICs) as examples to evaluate the interrelationship between non-renewable energy (oil, coal and gas), renewable energy (hydro and geothermal) and ecological footprint, using panel data from 1990 to 2018. The findings from both the common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) and augmented mean group (AMG) estimators reveal that economic growth intensifies ecological footprint. Furthermore, non-renewable energy (coal, oil and gas) amplifies the deterioration of the environment, while renewable energy (hydro and geothermal) does not enhance the environment. In addition, the causality provides credibility to the findings generated from the AMG and CCEMG long-run estimators. The results of this study are significant for policymakers in the NICs in terms of achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). [Received: March 20, 2022; Accepted: October 7, 2022]