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This study explored whether financial development and energy consumption affect environmental sustainability in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The empirical evidence used in this study was based on the standard fixed effects and the Arellano-Bover/Bundell Bond dynamic panel approach. Our empirical results demonstrated the importance of a financial development index and energy efficiency for reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability in the OECD. The mechanism through which financial development affects carbon emissions has been identified as energy consumption and foreign direct investment. Our study recommends that financial development be prioritised alongside investments in energy efficiency to promote environmental sustainability.

The financial sector plays a critical role in society by mediating resources and assets within the economy between surplus and deficit units. Therefore, they have a great responsibility for the sustainability and prosperity of natural endowments. This study aimed to determine whether sustainable finance matters for the natural resource curse in Nigeria and Ghana. The empirical evidence is based on the Bayer and Hanck combined cointegration tests and Vector Autoregressive/Vector Error Correction Granger causality tests. The study highlights the importance of sustainable financing in natural resources management. Our findings also confirmed the existence of the financial resource curse in Nigeria and Ghana. Likewise, the medium through which sustainable finance affects the natural resource curse has been identified as the human development index (economic welfare). This current study has critical policy implications that suggest the need to establish a vibrant, sustainable financing strategy to assist domestic private investors with a strong interest in natural resource exploration and development, taking into account macroeconomic sustainability. Additionally, it also important to build a strong financial market which allows for policies designed to promote natural resource management

Africa is currently experiencing both financial and human development challenges. While several continents have advocated for financial development in order to acquire environmentally friendly machinery that produces less emissions and ensures long-term sustainability, Africa is still lagging behind the rest of the world. Similarly, Africa's human development has remained stagnant, posing a serious threat to climate change if not addressed. Building on the underpinnings of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis on the nexus between economic growth and environmental pollution, this study contributes to empirical research seeking to promote environmental sustainability as follows. First, it investigates the link between financial development, human capital development and climate change in East and Southern Africa. Second, six advanced panel techniquesare used, and they include: (1) cross-sectional dependency (CD) tests; (2) combined panel unit root tests; (3) combined panel cointegration tests; (4) panel VAR/VEC Granger causality tests and (5) combined variance decomposition analysis based on Cholesky and Generalised weights.Our finding shows that financial and human capital developments are important in reducing CO2 emissions and promoting environmental sustainability in East and Southern Africa.