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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1519900
Navigating the path to sustainability in G20: Nexus of industrialization, economic development, resource management and green innovations
Provisionally accepted- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
Background: Environmental sustainability (ENS) is a pressing challenge for G20 economies, requiring a delicate balance between economic growth, resource management, and green innovations. While previous research has explored ENS determinants, limited attention has been given to the synergistic effects of financial management (FEM), industrialization (IDL), resource efficiency (REM), economic growth (ENG), human capital (HCI), and green innovations (GEN) within the G20 framework.Objective: This study evaluates the short-and long-term impacts of these factors on ENS, offering empirical evidence to guide sustainability policies in G20 nations.: Utilizing panel data (2000-2022), the study applies Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) to capture dynamic relationships, while Augmented Mean Group (AMG) and Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG) estimations ensure robustness. Key Findings: Results indicate that FEM (β = 0.3361, p < 0.05), ENG (β = 0.2213, p < 0.01), and HCI (β = 0.1026, p < 0.01) significantly enhance ENS, emphasizing the crucial role of financial stability, economic expansion, and human capital in driving sustainability. Conversely, IDL (β = -0.8879, p < 0.01) and REM (β = -0.1425, p < 0.05) negatively affect ENS, highlighting the environmental risks of rapid industrialization and inefficient resource utilization. Robustness analysis further reveals that GEN positively influences ENS (β = 0.1442, p < 0.01), reinforcing the need for sustained eco-innovation investments. Policy Implications: To enhance sustainability, G20 policymakers should prioritize green financial frameworks, promote human capital development, and foster technological innovations.Strategies should also mitigate the environmental costs of industrialization and improve resource efficiency. Strengthening institutional frameworks and fostering global cooperation will be essential in achieving long-term ENS and aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Keywords: Environmental sustainability, Human capital index, Natural resources, CS-ARDL, carbon emissions
Received: 30 Oct 2024; Accepted: 04 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Chen Zhao, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.