Bridging Borders and Brains: ESG Sustainability, Integration, Education and Energy Choices in Developed Economies

As ESG sustainability uncertainty intensifies and globalisation deepens, the energy trilemma—security, equity, and sustainability—emerges as the defining calculus of modern energy policy. Therefore, this investigation explores the influence of ESG sustainability uncertainty intensification and globalisation on the energy trilemma, while controlling education, urbanization and economic growth, using data from 2001 to 2022. The energy trilemma offers an all-inclusive gauge for understanding the effect of ESG sustainability uncertainty on energy trilemma. The study employed Lewbel’s Two Stage Least Squares method to examine the connection. The results disclose that ESG sustainability uncertainty is negatively associated with all three trilemma pillars. Globalisation displays a nonlinear influence: its squared terms are negative and statistically significant, implying diminishing marginal benefits at high levels of openness. This paper’s significance lies in evidence that ESG sustainability uncertainty erodes all three pillars of the energy trilemma, while globalization’s benefits taper at high openness—strengthening the mandate for a clean, just, secure, and sustainable transition.