This article examines the impact of human capital and income inequality on climate change in Asian countries (2007–2020) using various regression estimators on balanced panel data. Results from the GMM estimator indicate that increased income inequality and human capital investment exacerbate environmental degradation. However, only tertiary-level gross enrollment ratio (HC3) among the human capital variables mitigates the negative impact of income inequality on CO2 emissions. The study also analyzes the effects of renewable energy, economic growth, population, agricultural and service sector outputs, trade openness, government expenditure, and total investment on CO2 emissions, offering policy implications for sustainable economic growth in Asia.

Tran Thi Kim Oanh, Nguyen Thi Hong Ha