This study offers unique insights into the heterogeneous influence of energy
consumption, economic growth, and financial development on environmental
sustainability in Sub- Saharan African (SSA) countries. Basically, the
scarcity of evidence on this issue, especially in the context of SSA,
motivates this new assessment. Thus, on the basis of the annual panel series
for 22 SSA countries over the period 1999-2019, the novel quantile-based
method of moments (MM-QR), and system-generalisation method of moments
(sysGMM) provide the following results. First, financial development
significantly degrades the region?s environmental quality. Second, energy
utilisation provides varying significant increasing effects. Whereas it
largely increases carbon emissions at the upper quantiles, the influence at
the middle and low quantiles is inconsequential. This highlights the fact
that high levels of energy use in the region significantly increase carbon
emissions, which in turn reduces the region?s environmental sustainability.
Third, the empirical result confirms the inverted Uform hypothesis in the
region. Policy options to enhance and maintain sustainable growth in the
region without compromising environmental quality have been highlighted.