The causal links between green energy, uncertainty, remittances, FDI, and ecological footprint: Evidence using structural breaks and multiple wavelet approach

• Green energy, output and ecological footprint nexus in Ecuador during 1990–2023 is examined. • The relationship is moderated by output, uncertainty, remittances, and foreign direct investment. • We employ cointegration techniques with structural breaks and partial and multiple wavelets. • Green energy, remittances, and foreign direct investment reduce the ecological footprint. • GDP and uncertainty index increase the ecological footprint. Policies encouraging green energy adoption promote environmental sustainability, particularly in developing countries where the remittances boost household consumption. This research aims to empirically examine the impact of green energy, output, uncertainty, remittances, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the ecological footprint in Ecuador during 1990–2023. The research contributes to the green energy-environmental sustainability nexus debate by capturing the effect of external and internal shocks in the series and assessing the time–frequency dimension. This research is pioneering in examining the causal relationship between green energy, the uncertainty index, and the ecological footprint using combined cointegration and the multiple wavelet approach in a country with remittance dependence. We estimate cointegration techniques with structural breaks from Bayer and Hanck (2013) and Bai and Perron (1998), long-run elasticities using Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS), and Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR) models, partial and multiple wavelet analysis, and Fourier causality. We examine the moderating role of remittances and uncertainty as consumption accelerators, which reduces developing countries’ environmental sustainability. We find a cointegrating relationship in the presence of structural breaks between green energy, GDP, uncertainty, remittances, FDI, and environmental sustainability. We find that output and uncertainty increase the ecological footprint, while remittances, FDI, and green energy reduce it. Policymakers should consider remittances, FDI, and green energy as mechanisms to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 12 and promote environmental sustainability.