Assessing the ecological role of clean energy and voice and accountability in OECD countries

Abstract This study examines the ecological impacts of wind energy, voice and accountability (VAC), and the human development index (HDI) on load capacity factor in 33 OECD countries over the period 2003-2022 within the framework of the load capacity curve (LCC) hypothesis. The analysis employs the panel method of moments quantile regression to account for distributional heterogeneity across countries with different environmental performance levels. The results confirm the validity of the LCC hypothesis in OECD countries. Wind energy and VAC generally improve environmental quality, although their effects vary across quantiles, while the contribution of HDI becomes stronger at higher levels of environmental performance. Robustness checks using FMOLS and CCR estimators support the consistency of the findings. The results suggest that expanding wind energy capacity, strengthening participatory governance mechanisms, and promoting human development are essential for enhancing ecological sustainability in OECD countries.