Politická ekonomie X:X | DOI: 10.18267/j.polek.1478

Harmonizing Laws and Politics: Combating Environmental Pollution for Sustainable Development

Weiping Han, Romanus Osabohien ORCID..., Armand Fréjuis Akpa, Alhassan Abdul-Wakeel Karakara, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan
Weiping Han, School of Sociology and Law, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
Romanus Osabohien (corresponding author), Institute of Energy Policy and Research (IEPRe), Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kajang, Malaysia; DePECOS Institutions and Development Research Centre (DIaDeRC), Nigeria
Armand Fréjuis Akpa, DePECOS Institutions and Development Research Centre (DIaDeRC), Nigeria; Institut Supérieur Agronomique et Vétérinaire de Faranah (ISAV/F), Faranah 131, Guinea
Alhassan Abdul-Wakeel Karakara, DePECOS Institutions and Development Research Centre (DIaDeRC), Nigeria; Department of Economics Studies, School of Economics, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh Al-Faryan, Board Member and Head of the Scientific Committee at The Saudi Economic Association, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

This study explores the interplay among political factors, environmental pollution, and sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Drawing on an evaluation of the literature and empirical data, the study highlights the effect of political instability, corruption, and weak governance on environmental degradation and sustainable development. The study applied the Pooled Ordinary Least Squares, the fixed effects and to account for possible problems of endogeneity, the Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) was utilized. The result show that environmental pollution worsens sustainable development, while political factors improve sustainable development. These outcomes imply that political factors are necessary to promote sustainable development, because political factors allow to define rule to protect the environment. Finally, the study proposes policy aimed at promoting sustainable development, including strengthening environmental regulations, promoting renewable energy sources, and encouraging public-private partnerships for sustainable development.

Keywords: Environmental pollution, reenable energy, clean energy, political factors, sustainable development

Received: February 27, 2024; Revised: November 22, 2024; Accepted: December 9, 2024; Prepublished online: September 8, 2025 

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