Assessing the Influence of Renewable Energy Consumption, Agricultural Growth, and Export Diversification on Sustainable Economic Growth and Development: Empirical Insight from G-20

Achieving sustainable economic growth by addressing structural and environmental issues has become a top priority for decision-makers worldwide. This study investigates the impacts of renewable energy use, export diversification, and agricultural growth on sustainable economic development among G-20 economies. The analysis employs panel data from 1990 to 2021 with second-generation panel econometric methods, such as the PMG-ARDL test and dynamic panel estimation techniques, to elucidate both short- and long-term relationships. To examine the stationarity of the data series and identify cross-sectional dependence, this study applies some panel unit root tests, including the Cross-Sectionally Augmented Im and Pesaran test, the cross-sectional dependence (CSD) test, the Cross-Sectional Augmented Dickey–Fuller (CADF) test, and the Im, Pesaran, and Shin (IPS) test. The Westerlund co-integration test is employed to explore long-term relationships among the variables. To assess the prolonged impact of these factors, this study adopts the Pooled Mean Group–Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PMG-ARDL) approach. Findings reveal a statistically significant and persistent relationship between the variables, indicating that agricultural growth, renewable energy utilisation, and export diversification negatively affect economic growth. All insights highlight critical implications for G-20 policymakers; countries can develop a more resilient and sustainable economic pathway by addressing obstacles in agriculture, clean energy, and trade diversification.