Turning Climate Concern into Climate Courage: Female Parliamentarians Environmental Taxation and SDG

Environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and air pollution, have received heightened international attention following the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to promote global sustainable development. The presence of women in parliament has proven to be highly effective in advancing environmental tax policies that help reduce vulnerability to climate change. Using panel data from G20 and N11 economies between 2002 to 2022, this study provides evidence that women's presence in the parliament is a critical determinant of achieving environmental sustainability. The models’ results show that female parliamentarians with significant representation are more effective, and they reach the ‘Climate Action’ goal by reducing CO2 and GHG emissions, among other environmental targets. Notably, the country's ecological achievements can be intensified by implementing more efficient environmental taxation policies. We mitigate the endogeneity by using Lewbel-IV and GMM estimation. Moreover, this study also highlights the significance of this relationship when the government invests more in renewable energy, emits less CO2, has a significant forest reserve, and offers better employment opportunities.