Assessing green energy production and industrial excellence in Asian emerging economies in the context of industrial transformation and sustainable development

Emerging economies face the dual challenge of enhancing competitiveness to integrate into economic activities and adapting to the new global order for sustainable development. In line with this goal, the present research probes the connectivity between competitive industrial performance, renewable energy production, and industrialization, and the resulting consequences for ecological sustainability in 14 Asian developing countries. The study observed panel and country-wise data separately from 1992 to 2021, incorporated Autoregressive Distributed Lag-Pooled Mean Group (ARDL-PMG), Autoregressive Distributed Lag-Dynamic Fixed Effects (ARDL-DFE), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), Autoregressive Distributed Lag-Error Correction Model (ARDL_ECM), and also employed various stability techniques. Compelling shreds of evidence derived from the econometric models suggest that heightened industrial competitive performance and industrialization have detrimental impacts on carbon footprint. It is highly noticeable that industrial competitive performance possesses a greater influence on the carbon footprint compared to industrialization in both the entire panel and individual countries over the long-run. Renewable energy production and trade are eco-friendly since they enhance sustainability. Whereas, empirical outcomes indicate that foreign direct investment and human development reduce sustainability. Consequently, policymakers should emphasize a resilient approach to competitive industrial performance towards carbon neutrality during industrialization and encourage the embrace of renewables. This dual concentration assures the preservation of the environment simultaneously with a relentless endeavor for economic expansion.