Abstract

This paper examines how do transport infrastructure, urbanization, and financial inclusion interact to impact environmental quality in selected sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries from 1996 to 2021. The study employs the Cross-Sectional ARDL (CS-ARDL) and the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MM-QR) methodologies. The CS-ARDL model reveals that GDP enhances environmental quality in both the short and long term, while renewable energy unexpectedly degrades it. Transport infrastructure and population show positive effects on environmental quality, whereas urbanization, technology, and financial inclusion have negative impacts. The MMQR model indicates that GDP and urbanization consistently improve environmental quality across different quantiles. In contrast, the negative impact of renewable energy decreases with higher quantiles. Technology adversely affects environmental quality only at the extremes, infrastructure has a minor positive impact in lower quantiles, financial inclusion consistently reduces environmental degradation, and population shows no significant effect in most quantiles. The study recommends that an economic growth-focused approach integrating green technologies and circular economy practices is crucial for environmental policy and sustainable development in SSA, despite the challenges posed by renewable energy transitions and the need for technological innovation, infrastructure investment, and stringent regulations is imperative.