Carbon Footprints, Social Inclusion, and Inequality: Multidimensional Pathways to Sustainable Development Goals

This study investigates the multidimensional pathways to sustainable development by modelling three key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality) as dependent variables. Drawing on Sustainable Development Theory, the study analyses the influence of carbon emissions, female labour force participation, social inclusion indicators (vulnerable employment and employment-to-population ratio), GDP per capita, urbanization, and the COVID-19 pandemic as explanatory variables. Using unbalanced panel data for 65 countries (27 Sub-Saharan African and 38 OECD countries) spanning 2000–2022, the study captures the structural and regional variations across income levels and development contexts. The SDG 13 model reveals that carbon emissions significantly hinder climate action in both regions, more severely in OECD countries. Urbanization promotes climate resilience in OECD nations, while it remains insignificant in SSA. GDP per capita shows a negative association with climate action in both regions, underlining the growth–sustainability trade-off. In the SDG 5 model, female labour force participation enhances gender equality outcomes in OECD countries but weakens them in SSA, where informal and subsistence employment dominate. For SDG 10, high levels of vulnerable employment undermine inequality reduction efforts in SSA, while in OECD countries, the employment-to-population ratio negatively correlates with inclusive progress, reflecting the complexity of job quality and equity. The pandemic temporarily improved environmental outcomes, but the effect was not sustained. The study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable development by offering regional insights into how socio-economic and environmental variables shape climate action, gender equality, and reduced inequality. It underscores the need for region-specific, integrative policies that address environmental sustainability, gender empowerment, and social inclusion concurrently to advance transformative progress across the SDGs.