Introduction: This study analyzed the impacts of economic development, energy consumption, financial development, and oil prices on carbon emissions using panel data from 11 countries from January 1, 1990, to June 1, 2025.
Methods: To investigate the interactions among the variables, advanced econometric methods, including Pedroni’s and Westerlund’s Bootstrap cointegration tests, FMOLS-DOLS, and CCEMG, were employed to obtain comprehensive and reliable results.
Results: The findings indicate that energy consumption has the most significant positive effect on carbon emissions, while economic growth and financial development negatively influence carbon emissions.
Conclusion: The results suggest that economic growth and financial development have both positive and negative effects on the environment, reflecting the complex interactions between technological advancements, structural economic shifts, and policy measures. Moreover, a negative correlation between crude oil prices and carbon emissions indicates that increasing oil prices drive a partial demand shift toward alternative energy sources, particularly in the industrial and automotive sectors; however, this effect varies across models and specifications. These findings provide practical insights for policymakers regarding environmental sustainability, sustainable economic development, and energy policy, emphasizing the need for targeted monitoring and feasible implementation mechanisms, especially in developing countries.