This paper targets to examine the impact of renewable energy and ecological footprint on economic growth in 14 selected French-speaking countries in Africa. The study contributes to the ongoing debate in the literature on environment growth-nexus by providing evidence that economic growth emerges with environmental degradations and can be improved when there is a robust institutional framework. The present research used the generalized method of moments (GMM) to assess a dynamic growth model with data from 2007 to 2015. The results demonstrate that renewable energy is significant and negatively related to economic growth, which implies that renewable energy sources lower the per capita income growth in these countries. Meanwhile, the ecological footprint is positive and statistically significant in impacting economic growth in the long run. For institutions, we find that voice and accountability, political stability, and the rule of law are positive and statistically significant in influencing economic growth. Consequently, it is recommended that policymakers in this region develop dual policies that raise institutions' quality with minimal emissions of greenhouse gases.