The global trend of environmental degradation, marked by escalating carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and expanding ecological footprints, poses a significant risk to the planet and leads to global warming. This decline in the environment is primarily attributed to the extensive use of non-renewable energy sources and substantial economic activities. This study investigates the dynamic impact of non-renewable energy (coal, gas, and oil), renewable energy, economic growth, and capital formation on CO₂ emissions and the ecological footprint in Indonesia spanning from 1965–2022. Employing Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), and a robustness test with Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR) techniques, we seek to establish long-term associations among the studied variables. Preliminary findings, supported by our primary models, reveal that every increase in coal and gas directly results in higher CO₂ emissions but does not affect ecological footprints. Conversely, every increase in oil affects the rise of ecological footprints but not CO₂ emissions. Meanwhile, the rise in renewable energy will reduce both CO₂ emissions and ecological footprints, consequently enhancing Indonesia's environmental quality. Furthermore, increasing economic growth will increase both CO₂ emissions and ecological footprint, while the rise in capital formation reduces the ecological footprint. The Granger causality test showed unidirectional causality from CO₂ emissions to renewable energy and also revealed bidirectional causality between ecological footprint and renewable energy. This study clarifies the patterns of energy emissions in Indonesia and provides policymakers with recommendations for maintaining environmental sustainability, including investing in renewable energy use and transitioning away from non-renewable energy, given the pressing climate challenges and the goal of achieving carbon neutrality.

This study looks at the short- and long-term effects of fossil fuels, renewable energy, and nuclear energy on CO₂ emissions in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries from 1982 to 2021. We assess the impacts of SAARC’s current and anticipated use of nuclear, fossil, and alternative energies by testing the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The study applied the second-generation unit root test, cointegration test, and the newly introduced AMG technique to handle the presence of cross-sectional dependence. The results indicate that EKC does not hold in SAARC, and a U-shaped quadratic link exists between GDP and environmental pollution. The findings also reveal that the environmental pollution in the SAARC is caused by fossil fuel, whereas using renewable (REN) and nuclear energy can cut long-term pollution. While renewable energy is critical to minimizing environmental deterioration in SAARC, empirical findings also show that more than rising national wealth is needed to meet environmental demands. According to the results of this study, SAARC countries should take the lead in achieving sustainable growth and the efficient use of clean energy.