Financing SDGs and Achieving Climate Neutrality in Turbulent Emerging Markets Through Institutional Pressure and Environmental Innovation

ABSTRACT Amid intensifying global efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, driven by landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, firms are under mounting pressure to embed environmental objectives within their business strategies. Carbon emissions disclosure (CED) has become a key mechanism for signaling environmental responsibility and aligning with these global sustainability expectations. However, in emerging economies where institutional frameworks are still evolving, disclosure practices remain inconsistent. Understanding the strategic, financial, and institutional drivers of CED in such contexts is essential for advancing both corporate transparency and international climate goals. This study examines the conditional effects of institutional pressure and environmental innovation on the nexus between ownership strategy and financing mechanisms and carbon disclosure. Drawing on stakeholder and signaling theories, the analysis uses a panel of 397 energy firms in MENA BRI economies from 2013 to 2023. System GMM estimation addresses endogeneity, while quantile regression explores heterogeneity in disclosure intensity. Findings show that institutional and foreign ownership promote disclosure, whereas family ownership reduces it. Equity financing is positively associated with CED, whereas debt financing discourages it. Institutional pressure and environmental innovation both strengthen these effects, suggesting that firms are more responsive to disclosure imperatives when they face strong external expectations and possess internal sustainability capabilities. This study contributes new insights to the literature on business strategy and the environment. It offers practical guidance for firms and policymakers aiming to improve ESG transparency and accelerate the transition toward climate neutrality by 2050 in carbon‐intensive sectors.