ANNOUNCEMENTS
As the globally efforts to achieve sustainable development intensify, green finance has emerged as a critical enabler in harmonizing economic development with environmental stewardship. This study explores the intricate dynamics among green finance, economic development, and environmental sustainability within the “BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa”—offering a fresh and nuanced perspective that bridges gaps in the current literature.
Leveraging a Green Financial Index (GFI) constructed using the Low Entropy Weight Method, the study incorporates 30 multidimensional variables spanning energy, environment, socio-economic, financial, and ESG categories. The index serves as a robust instrument to quantify and differentiate between the green financial landscape across BRICS nations over time. Panel data regression models—both baseline and those integrating the GFI into the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework—are employed to examine correlations between development and carbon emissions.
The findings affirm the Kuznets Curve hypothesis, identifying a conventional inverted-U relationship between GDP and emissions. However, the inclusion of green finance alters this trajectory by delaying the emissions turning point, implying a strategic trade-off where sustained economic growth can coexist with a gradual environmental transition. Notably, the study highlights significant intra-BRICS variation in green financial maturity, with policy inertia and capital misallocation posing key challenges.
By positioning green finance as a transitional—not immediate—solution, this research underscores the necessity of embedding financial greening within long-term national development agendas. It also advocates for tailored policy reforms such as carbon pricing, green bond mobilization, and ESG standardization to accelerate sustainable outcomes.
Ultimately, this research provides a more integrated understanding of how green finance can be harnessed as a strategic instrument in emerging economies, reshaping the discourse on development and sustainability in the Global South.
