The effects of governance and green energy transition on green economic growth in sub Saharan Africa

This study examines the impact of the transition to renewable energy (TGE) on green economic growth (GG) in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on the role of governance. Using balanced panel data covering 34 countries over the period 2000–2024, we apply the CCEMG estimator (Pesaran, 2006) to account simultaneously for cross-sectional dependence and individual heterogeneity. The results show that, in the absence of effective governance, increasing the share of renewable energy alone does not enhance green growth and may even have a negative effect. Productive investment and digitalization promote green growth, whereas high final consumption and greater trade openness tend to hinder it. The interaction between renewable energy consumption and governance is positive and statistically significant, highlighting that institutional quality strengthens the effectiveness of energy policies. These findings indicate that the success of the transition toward green growth depends not only on technological and energy investments, but also on strong institutions capable of guiding, regulating, and securing the necessary structural transformations.