Vol.:(0123456789) Environment, Development and Sustainability https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04391-7 1 3 CO 2 emission, life expectancy, and economic growth: a triad analysis of Sub‑Saharan African countries Parveen Kumar 1  · Magdalena Radulescu 2,3,4 Received: 30 August 2023 / Accepted: 17 December 2023 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2024 Abstract This paper examined the long-period and short-period interdependence among CO 2 emis- sions, life expectancy, and GDP growth in 45 SSA countries since 1991–2020. To secure the legitimacy and credibility of our results, we employed modern econometric techniques, including cross-sectional dependence, panel dynamic ordinary least square, Dumitrescu– Hurlin, Fisher Johnson co-integration test, and vector error correction method. The find- ings revealed strong positive correlation between economic factors for instance GDP per capita, industry value added, and inflation along with CO 2 emissions. Similarly, social factors such as life expectancy and urbanization showed a positive relationship with CO 2 emissions. Moreover, our observations validate the environmental Kuznets curve hypoth- esis in context of SSA nations. We anticipate that the insights derived from this research will be valuable for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners aiming to concentrate on environmental degradation and encourage sustainable development in the region. Further insights into policy implications are provided. Keywords Environmental Kuznets curve · CO 2 emission, Sub-Saharan Africa · Panel dynamic ordinary least square Abbreviations CO 2 Carbon dioxide emissions IND Industrialization * Magdalena Radulescu magdalena.radulescu@upit.ro Parveen Kumar pkbhatt9@gmail.com 1 Guest Faculty, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India 2 Department of Finance, Accounting and Economics, Pitesti University Center, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, Str. Targu din Vale, no. 1, 110040 Pitesti, Romania 3 Institute of Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Studies, University Lucian Blaga of Sibiu, Bd. Victoriei, no.10, Sibiu, Romania 4 UNEC Research Methods Application Center, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Istiqlaliyyat Str. 6, 1001 Baku, Azerbaijan