This study aims to examine the effects of economic growth, energy usage, trade openness and foreign direct investment on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for G8 countries using annual data for the period 1990–2018. For this purpose, this study primarily follows the cross-section dependence and heterogeneity tests. Then, unit root and cointegration tests, cointegration analyzes and causality analyzes are performed in the study. Finally, the article estimates short-term parameters and long-term parameters to capture possible dynamic relationships between variables. The Westerlund Error Correction Model (ECM) panel test for cointegration shows that there is a cointegration relationship between these variables for both the entire panel and the cross-section units. Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator method shows that economic growth has no effect on CO2 emissions in the majority of the countries studied, energy usage increases CO2 emissions, while foreign direct investments and trade openness do not affect CO2 emissions in some countries, but positively effects in some countries and negatively in others. According to the results obtained from the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) analysis, it has been determined that economic growth, energy usage and trade openness are important to explain the change in CO2 emissions in the long run, while energy usage and trade openness are important to explain the change in CO2 emissions in the short run too, but economic growth is not. According to Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality results, it is seen that there is no causal relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth and energy use. While there is a unidirectional causality from CO2 emissions to foreign direct investments, it has been determined that there is a bidirectional causality between trade openness and CO2 emissions. When the results are examined in general, this study provides important ideas about the determinants of CO2 emissions in the G8 countries.