Fostering green progress: The dual influence of natural resource rent and human capital on emerging economy energy transition

The scale and complexity of the energy transition pose formidable challenges. For the fast‐track progress of energy transition, emerging economies must identify the barriers to a successful transition. This study aims to investigate the role of natural resource depletion and human capital in achieving clean energy affordability and climate action through successful energy transition in emerging economies from 1990 to 2021. The study used quantile regression to analyze and estimate the relationship between variables at different conditional quantiles. The outcomes of the analysis suggest that natural resource depilation, human capital, and economic growth significantly facilitate the energy transition in emerging economies at all quantiles (Q0.10 – Q0.90), while the study identifies a paradoxical inverse relationship between financial development and energy transition across all quantiles, which implies that it impedes the transformation from traditional fossil fuels to the green energy resources. The study's outcomes suggest policy implications for advancing the energy transition in the context of natural resources and human capital management for emerging economies.