ABSTRACT

The increasing temperatures worldwide and the accelerated effects of climate change have led climate change and global warming to become significant concerns for researchers, scientists, and policymakers worldwide. It is believed that green technology innovations, renewable energy, and financial development are critical components in combating global warming and limiting global temperature increases to 1,5°C, as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. This study aims to examine the effects of financial development, green technology innovations, and renewable energy use on carbon emissions (CE) for the top 20 countries with the highest carbon emissions, in order to determine how these variables contribute to environmental protection. In this regard, CIPS- CADF unit root tests, Westerlund (2007) cointegration test and CSARDL model, which takes into account cross-sectional independence and heterogeneity between cross-sections in the period between 2000 and 2021, were used for empirical analysis. The results indicate that all variables are cointegrated in the long run. Additionally, renewable energy and green technology innovations are shown to have a negative impact on environmental degradation and help reduce environmental risks. According to the results of Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) causality test; It reveals the existence of a two-way causal relationship from financial development, green technology innovations and renewable energy use to carbon emissions. In addition, the forecast results predict that green technology innovations and the use of renewable energy will be the main factors that will make contribution to reducing carbon emissions in the future.