The motivation for this research stems from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), specifically SDGs 7, 11, 12, and 13, which focus on the mitigation of climate change and sustainable economic development. This study examined the impact of renewable energy use, institutional quality, and production expansion on consumption-based carbon dioxide (CCO₂) emissions in BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) from 1996 to 2020. To achieve this, we applied advanced econometric techniques, including second-generation cointegration and unit root tests, along with the novel panel method of moments quantile regression (MMQR). The Westerlund cointegration test confirmed the presence of a long-run co-movement among renewable energy usage, economic growth, institutional quality, and environmental quality, suggesting a stable equilibrium relationship between these variables. The results from MMQR reveal that GDP has a positive and statistically significant effect on CCO₂ emissions across all quantiles, indicating that economic expansion contributes to environmental degradation. In contrast, renewable energy consumption and institutional quality show negative and significant impacts on CCO₂ emissions, indicating their mitigating effect on environmental deterioration. As a robustness check, the findings from fixed-effect OLS (FE-OLS), generalized method of moments (GMM), and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimations broadly confirm the results of MMQR. These findings underscore the importance of renewable energy consumption and strong institutional frameworks in promoting environmental sustainability.

This study investigates the factors influencing consumer willingness to pay a premium for local food in Saudi Arabia, focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), technological transparency, environmental sustainability, and cultural alignment. While ethical consumption is widely studied in Western contexts, limited research explores these factors in emerging markets with distinct cultural influences. This study addresses this gap by examining how these elements shape consumer confidence and purchasing behavior. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS software, data from 286 customers were analyzed. The results indicate that CSR initiatives and blockchain-enabled transparency significantly enhance consumer trust, which, in turn, positively influences willingness to pay more for local food. Additionally, cultural alignment strengthens consumer confidence, amplifying its mediating role. However, the impact of environmental sustainability on willingness to pay was weaker than expected, suggesting that economic and social factors may have a more pronounced effect in this context. The findings contribute to consumer behavior theory by integrating digital transparency and cultural factors into ethical consumption models. Practically, the study provides strategic insights for local food producers and policymakers, emphasizing the role of trust-building mechanisms in justifying premium pricing. This research advances understanding of ethical consumption in emerging economies and informs sustainable business strategies in the evolving Saudi market.

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We consider in this paper the impact of democracy and education on pollution over the period 2002–2021 for a panel of 42 countries using the PMG-ARDL estimation technique. We consider different levels of economic development, of income and democracy. Our results show that a higher level of school enrollment (EDU) increases the level of pollution. Also improvement in the political life of developing countries can have less pollution. We also show that democratic low-income countries pollute more than democratic high-income countries. However, countries pollute more as they became more autocratic and when they are endowed with higher levels of schooling. More findings in our study show that democracy in developing countries yields better educational outcomes that in turn, improve pollution. Our results report that, above a certain level of education, the benefits in terms of awareness are wiped out by the pollution stemming from the boom in economic activity and growth in developing countries. However, the costs in terms of pollution are sponged by the environmental awareness stemming from the educational outcomes for developed countries. More findings in our study show that countries tend to benefit less from a democratic environment as they move to higher income levels. Our estimation show the existence of a bidirectional causal relationship between our variables of interest.