Air pollution (AIRP) remains a critical public health and environmental challenge in developing Asia, where rapid industrialization and fossil fuel dependence continue to undermine population health and longevity. This study examines the impact of AIRP on life expectancy (LIFE) and investigates whether renewable energy adoption moderates this relationship. AIRP is proxied by carbon dioxide (CO₂) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, which capture pollution-intensive energy systems, industrial activity, and agricultural practices that jointly generate health-damaging co-pollutants, particularly in contexts where consistent long-term data on ambient pollutants such as PM₂.₅ are unavailable. Using balanced panel data for 30 developing Asian countries from 2000 to 2023, we apply fixed effects, system GMM, and Lewbel IV-2SLS estimators to address unobserved heterogeneity, endogeneity, and persistence in health outcomes, while accounting for key socioeconomic and healthcare-related confounders. The results indicate that higher CO₂ and N₂O emissions significantly reduce LIFE, with CO₂ exerting a relatively stronger adverse effect. Importantly, greater renewable energy adoption weakens the negative association between emissions and LIFE, suggesting a mitigating role of clean energy transitions. While acknowledging that LIFE is influenced by multiple structural factors beyond AIRP, the findings provide robust evidence that renewable energy expansion can contribute to improved environmental quality and long-term health outcomes. These results highlight the potential co-benefits of clean energy policies for environmental sustainability and public health, offering cautious and policy-relevant insights aligned with SDG 3, SDG 7, and SDG 13.

In light of the growing importance of sustainable finance and renewable energy markets, this study examines how fluctuations in Germany's renewable energy sector interact with sustainability-related uncertainty. Using the wavelet quantile-on-quantile regression approach (WQQR), it investigates the influence of renewable energy sector prices, including solar energy, wind energy, and renewable fuels, on the ESG-Related Uncertainty Index (ESGUI-G) in Germany over the period from June 2008 to 2025. In the short term, we found a negative effect of S92G, ECVG, VBKG, and NDXG on ESGUI-G, and no effect was observed by CE2G and PNE. In the medium term, ESGUI-G was positively affected by CE2G, ECVG, PNE, and VBKG, and negatively affected by NDXG and S92G. In the long term, the results indicate that ESGUI-G is positively (negatively) affected by CE2G (NDXG, S92G, and VBKG). Furthermore, we observed a mix of positive and negative effects of ECVG and PNE on ESGUI-G in different quantiles. The results indicate that wind power equity is highly correlated with sustainability uncertainty, amplifying risk under both normal and turbulent market conditions. In contrast, green fuels and bioenergy firms exhibit short-term stability at low quantiles, followed by consistently positive effects in the medium and long term at higher quantiles, suggesting their potential as effective hedging tools under normal conditions, though they may exacerbate uncertainty in extreme circumstances.

Environmental degradation, particularly through rising carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is a pressing challenge for developing countries where large informal economies often escape regulatory oversight. This study investigates the impact of the informal economy on environmental degradation, tests for a potential nonlinear (U-shaped) relationship, and examines how this nexus is moderated by institutional quality. Using annual panel data for 120 developing countries over 2002–2020, we apply fixed effects and system GMM estimators with two measures of informal economy including Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model and the Dynamic General Equilibrium (DGE) model estimates, and four institutional indicators including control of corruption (COC), rule of law (ROL), regulatory quality (RQ), and government effectiveness (GE). The results reveal that the informal economy significantly intensifies CO ₂ and GHG emissions. Furthermore, the squared term of informal economy confirms a U-shaped relationship, suggesting that informality may initially reduce emissions at very low levels but exacerbates them once it surpasses a threshold. Moreover, the results indicate that higher institutional quality, as reflected in better COC, ROL, RQ, and GE, mitigates the adverse effects of the informal economy on CO ₂ and GHG emissions. This highlights a significant substitutability between the informal economy and institutional quality, indicating that improvements in institutions will not only reduce the informality but also weaken its harmful impact on environmental degradation. The findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize strengthening institutional frameworks, particularly in areas related to COC, ROL, RQ, and GE to mitigate the environmental harm caused by the informal economy. Effective institutional reforms can serve as a dual strategy to both formalize economic activities and improve environmental sustainability. Beyond generic governance reforms, subsidizing cleaner technologies for highly polluting informal sectors (such as brick kilns and leather tanning) and adopting incentive-based formalization programs can effectively curb emissions while safeguarding livelihoods.

This study proposes and empirically assesses a bio-inspired conceptual framework, termed Digital DNA, for modeling Industry 5.0 transformation as a complementary extension of established Industry 4.0 principles with an explicit focus on human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience. Rather than positing a new industrial revolution, our positioning follows the European Commission’s view that Industry 5.0 complements Industry 4.0 by emphasizing stakeholder value and human-technology symbiosis. We encode organizational capabilities (genotype) into four gene groups, Adaptability, Technology, Governance, and Culture, and link them to five human-centric outcomes (phenotype). Twenty capability genes and ten outcome measures were scored, normalized (0–100 scale), and analyzed using correlations, K-means clustering, and mutation/drift tracking to capture both static maturity levels and dynamic change patterns. Results show that high Industry 5.0 readiness is consistently associated with elevated Governance and Culture scores. Three transformation archetypes were identified: Alpha, representing holistic socio-technical integration; Beta, with strong technical capacity but weaker cultural alignment; and Gamma, with fragmented capabilities and elevated vulnerability. The Digital DNA framework offers a replicable diagnostic tool for linking socio-technical capabilities to human-centric outcomes, enabling readiness assessment and guiding adaptive, ethical manufacturing strategies.

This study explores the effect of Energy Inequality (EINQ) on environmental sustainability within the frameworks of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the Load Capacity Curve (LCC), while accounting for technological progress (TECH), financial development (FD), and foreign direct investment (FDI). Using annual data for six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from 2005 to 2024, the analysis applies the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to capture heterogeneous effects across the distribution of the Load Capacity Factor (LCF). The results show that energy inequality consistently reduces environmental sustainability, indicating that unequal access to efficient and clean energy services heightens ecological pressure. In contrast, technological innovation and financial development enhance sustainability by improving energy efficiency and supporting green investments. Economic growth exhibits an inverted U-shape, validating the EKC and LCC hypotheses. These findings are especially important for the GCC, where hydrocarbon dependence, uneven access to clean energy, and rapid structural change intensify the environmental consequences of inequality. The study underscores the need for policies that promote equitable energy access, innovation-led diversification, and sustainable financial mechanisms.