We estimate the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for Central Asia by allowing for the possibility of linear, U-shaped and N-shaped forms, and considering the impact of ecological footprint, climate change adaptation and energy consumption. We employ a fully modified ordinary least squares framework for cointegrating polynomial regressions, and include obtained long-run relations in a panel Vector Error Correction model. The findings suggest that the linear EKC form is more coherent for Central Asia compared to the N-shaped EKC form. We link this to the fact that the Central Asian countries are in the first stage of the EKC. We observe that Gross domestic product, ecological footprint, energy consumption and climate change adaptation positively impact carbon dioxide emissions in the long-run. Moreover, there is bidirectional causality from $$GDP$$GDP and climate change adaptation to $${CO}_{2}$$CO 2 emissions, while causality is unidirectional between emissions and energy consumption.