Do dependence on fossil fuels and corruption spur ecological footprint?

Corruption, a benchmark for institutional quality plays a critical role in achieving sustainable development, especially in developing countries. The nexus between corruption and economics is widely discussed in economic literature, however, the nexus between corruption and environmental degradation has received less attention. Here, we investigate the relationship between corruption and environmental degradation by accounting for income, urbanization, and disaggregate energy consumption in Newly Industrialized Countries from 1984 to 2016. Utilizing panel data methods, the empirical results reveal the existence of a long-run relationship between environmental degradation and regressors. Corruption, economic growth, and fossil fuel utilization have positive and statistically significant effect on environmental degradation, whereas renewable energy consumption has negative and statistically significant effect on environmental degradation. Besides, urbanization has positive but statistically insignificant effect on environmental degradation. The results reveal corruption poses a risk to the achievement of environmental aims of Sustainable Development Goals in Newly Industrialized Countries.