The quest for rapid economic development by modern nations has led to an unprecedented increase in carbon emissions. Knowledge spillovers from increasing trade activities and effective environmental regulations have been suggested as viable means of controlling these rising emissions. To that end, this study aims to examine the impact ‘trade openness’ and ‘institutional quality’ had on CO 2 emissions in BRICS countries from 1991 to 2019. Three indices, namely, institutional quality, political stability, and political efficiency, are constructed to measure the overall institutional impact on emissions. A single indicator analysis is conducted for a deeper investigation of each index component. Given the existence of cross-sectional dependence among variables, the study uses the modern dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) method to estimate their long-run relationships. Confirming the pollution haven hypothesis, the findings reveal that ‘trade openness’ indeed is a cause of environmental degradation in the BRICS nations. Through reduced corruption, improved political stability, bureaucratic accountability, and better law and order, ‘institutional quality’ is found to be contributing positively to environmental sustainability. It is also confirmed that renewable energy sources do have a positive environmental impact; however, it is found to be insufficient to offset the adverse effects caused by non-renewable sources. Based on the results, it is advised that BRICS countries should strengthen their cooperation with developed countries so that positive spillovers of green technologies may occur. Moreover, renewable resources should be aligned with firms’ profits so that sustainable production practices can become the new norm.

Prior research has identified outward‐oriented policies as a far superior approach to achieving economic growth. Whilst trade openness determines economic growth in the short run, institutional quality is critical to long‐term viability. However, the direct and indirect effects of institutions have been understudied, particularly for the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. This study addresses this issue by estimating long‐run and short‐run elasticities using the system GMM and pooled mean group models and identifying its country‐specific impact using the fully modified ordinary least square model. According to the findings, trade and institutions are only short‐run complements of economic growth. In the long run, however, the lack of good governance limits the positive impact of trade openness.

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The present study investigates the impact of trade openness on urbanization in BRICS countries, covering data from 1991 to 2017. The study uses instrument variable approach and two‐system least square method for the empirical analysis. Based on the empirical results, the study confirms the positive and significant link between trade openness and urbanization as per the New Growth Theory. The results show that the cities having more access to global trade links tend to be highly urbanized. The findings also suggest that the increasing urban concentration affects the export and import positively and enhances trade openness. However, the urban population concentration turns out to be affected negatively by trade openness in the centrally located regions. The agriculture commodity trade is found to be positively affected by the increased openness and GDP of BRICS economies. Finally, the findings suggested that trade openness plays a substantial role in promoting urban concentration in these five emerging market economies.