Influence of fintech, natural resources, and energy transition on environmental degradation of BRICS countries: Moderating role of human capital

The rapid pace of economic development experienced by the BRICS countries is accompanied by increased carbon (CO2) emissions resulting from the excessive use of energy and natural resources. However, the emergence of recent technologies has led to the offering of efficient production methods with improved financing channels. This study analyzes the role of financial technologies, digitalization, natural resources, energy transition, and energy innovations on CO2 emissions. It also tests the moderating effect of human capital in BRICS countries from 1995 to 2021. Initially, Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimation approach is applied to conduct empirical analysis. Due to asymmetric data distribution and non-linear relationships among variables, the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) approach is also applied to estimate the effect of the variables across different quantiles of CO2 emission. The findings indicate that digitalization, financial technologies, energy transition, energy innovations, and natural resources reduce CO2 emission, whereas human capital increases it. However, the moderating effect of human capital on the association between digitalization, energy transition, and CO2 emission is significant and positive, indicating that human capital strengthens the negative impact of these factors on environmental degradation. Human capital does not significantly moderate the relationship of natural resources, financial technologies, and renewable energy innovations with CO2 emissions.