Sustainability Transitions: The Role of Private Sector Development, Human Rights Protection, and Energy Transition in Sustainable Development and Ecological Footprint

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite global cooperation, increased efforts toward the energy transition, and improved voluntary national commitments, progress toward the 2030 Agenda remains slow and uneven, highlighting the need for more effective governance and stronger policy interventions. Accordingly, this research analyzes the non‐linear effects of private sector development, human rights, and renewable energy transition on the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGI) and the ecological footprint (EF) in G7 countries from 2000 to 2024 using Kernel‐Based Regularized Least Squares (KRLS). The outcomes indicate that the contribution of private sector development to SDG achievement strengthens as private sector development expands. Thus, a mature and productive private sector can promote the SDGI through its contribution to innovation, entrepreneurship, and employment creation. However, the ecological pressure produced by private sector development is not found to pose a significant marginal effect on the EF. Renewable energy transition strengthens the progress on the SDGs and also curbs the EF throughout the distribution. Notably, the favorable effects of human rights protection on SDG achievement are visible only at higher levels of human rights. Conversely, human rights protection is linked with an increased EF, implying that human rights protection stimulates economic participation, demand for resources, and consumption, which increase ecological pressure. Both natural capital and gross fixed capital formation are found to reduce the SDGI and increase the EF, whereas economic growth improves the SDGI and has a positive but statistically insignificant effect on the EF. Finally, policy recommendations are offered to improve the SDGI and limit the EF.