ESG Uncertainty and Decarbonization: Heterogeneous Panel Evidence on the Energy Transition Channel

This study examines the relationship between Environmental, Social, and Governance Uncertainty (ESGU) and carbon intensity within a panel data framework covering 24 economies over 2002–2024, directly addressing Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13. Despite growing attention to ESG-related uncertainty in financial markets, its macroeconomic consequences for decarbonization outcomes remain empirically underexplored. Employing the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator alongside two-way fixed effects models with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, the analysis tests five hypotheses concerning direct, mediated, and moderated effects.