Abstract
This study examined the role of renewable energy transition in the demographic dividend and ecological footprint nexus among G20 countries. Despite mounting research exploring the link between demographic dividend and environmental sustainability, three key areas remain largely unexplored. First, studies that have explored the indirect role of renewable energy transition and information and communications technology on the relationship between demographic dynamics and ecological outcomes are rare. Second, most studies have examined the linear nature of the relationship between demographic dividend and ecological footprint outcomes, leaving a gap to explore the nonlinear nature of the relationship, with possibilities of turning points, as suggested by the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory. Third, existing studies reveal a methodological gap regarding the use of dynamic panel models that account for cross-sectional dependence and hidden common factors within G20 countries. This research aimed to contribute to the literature through: assessing the moderating role of renewable energy transition and information and communications technology on the demographic dividend–ecological footprint relationship, introducing a quadratic specification to capture the potential inverted U-shaped effects in this relationship, and employing the CCE-augmented dynamic model that accounts for cross-sectional dependence and hidden common factors for G20 countries from 2010 to 2023. This study termed this relationship the demographic-dividend–EKC (DD–EKC) framework. The results revealed that the demographic dividend significantly increases the ecological footprint, while its squared term confirms a nonlinear inverted U-shaped DD–EKC relationship, which serves as an extension to the classical EKC framework. This means that after a certain point, a surge in the demographic dividend can actually help the environment. Renewable energy transition was found to reduce the negative effects of increasing demographic dividend, demonstrating its key role in promoting sustainable practices. While ICT's moderating influence remains statistically weak, it could help lower environmental damage when paired with cleaner energy sources. The study suggests that policies should combine demographic structure planning with environmental and energy strategies to accelerate...