Dynamics of Renewable Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Nexus in Developing Countries: Catalysing The Moderating Role of Geopolitical Risk and Migration

Abstract

Over the decades, significant increases in migration, economic development, urbanisation, and population growth have contributed to higher levels of environmental degradation by increasing energy consumption, intensifying resource extraction, and straining natural resources in developing economies. Addressing these challenges requires a clean energy transition, sustainable urban planning and sustainable natural resources management. Considering this, this study explores the effects of migration (NMG), remittance (PRR), renewable energy consumption (REC), geopolitical risk (GPR) and natural resources (TNR) on load capacity factor (LF) from 2000 to 2023 for developing economies by applying dynamic fixed effect (DFE) and cross-sectional autoregressive augmented distributive lag (CS-ARDL) model. The empirical findings show a positive association between PRR, REC, TNR, and LF, while a negative connection exists between NMG, GPR and LF. Additionally, the interaction between TNR and GPR hinders the LF, whereas the interaction between NMG and TNR enhances the LF. Based on these findings, the study suggests that developing economies should focus on promoting investment in clean energy, adopt strict environmental policies to manage natural resources effectively, and utilize remittances productively, while strengthening economic and political stability and implementing skill-based migration policies to achieve sustainable goals and ensure long-term environmental resilience.