The Influence of Inclusive Finance on Atmospheric Carbon Emissions

Authors

  • Simon Osiregbemhe Ilogho Department of Finance and Investment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
  • Heinz Eckart Klingelhöfer Department of Finance and Investment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.22777

Keywords:

Carbon Emissions, Inclusive Finance, Greenhouse Gas, Southern Africa, Sustainability

Abstract

Global initiatives towards atmospheric carbon emissions reduction have been vested towards a carbon neutral future, but emerging markets, especially in Africa, with emission reduction challenges may capitalise on inclusive financing as a possible influential tool to carbon emission abatement. This study examines the impact of inclusive finance on carbon emissions per capita in 13 South African Development Community (SADC) countries from 2002 to 2022. Financial inclusion was measured using access to Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), bank branches, and personal remittances. A robust Panel Estimated Generalised Least Squares (EGLS) regression was applied through two models, one a) assessing current-year effects and another b) using lagged years. Results show that having more ATMs in the previous year reduces carbon emissions per capita in the current year, while having more bank branches in the prior year increases them. This suggests that financial inclusion influences carbon emissions per capita and expanding ATM access may benefit both financial inclusion and environmental sustainability. Moreover, traditional financial inclusion channels, such as bank branches, are associated with higher emissions, while more technologically innovative proxies (ATMs), correspond to reductions. This highlights the importance of promoting innovative, technology-driven-sustainable financial service delivery models.

Author Biographies

Simon Osiregbemhe Ilogho, Department of Finance and Investment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.

Dr Ilogho Simon is a young Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Finance and Investment, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Tshwane University of Technology, Ga-Rankuwa Campus, Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a Ph.D in Accounting at Covenant University, Nigeria where he graduated in the 2021/2022 academic session at the age of 28. Although, away on research leave, he is still a lecturer at the Department of Accounting, Covenant University, having resumed in 2018. As a lecturer, he has impacted more lives through his teaching, mentorship, and research. As a researcher, Simon has been able to contribute to the existing field of knowledge, having published numerous articles in different international peer-reviewed journals and conferences.  Simon is currently working on research within the scope of sustainability finance under the supervision of his host Professor Heinz Eckart Klingelhöfer.

Heinz Eckart Klingelhöfer, Department of Finance and Investment, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.

Professor Klingelhöfer Heinz Eckart is an erudite and a well-established Professor at the Department of Finance and Investment, Faculty of Economics and Finance, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa. He has always had a passion for research. He believes that teaching flows from research and that everything taught, that cannot be justified by research, should generate the questions for researchers to investigate.Holding an R&I professorship for Managerial Accounting and Finance, Prof Klingelhöfer started his career after graduating with a Diplom-Wirtschaftsingenieur (MSc in Business Engineering) in 1993, as a research assistant at the Clausthaler Umwelttechnik-Institute, Department of Business Administration. Soon afterwards he joined the Technical University of Clausthal-Germany’s Institute of Economic Science, as a research assistant, and later the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University in Greifswald. There, he obtained his habilitation and venia legendi in Management Science/Business Administration in 2004 and his PhD in 1999.

Downloads

Published

2026-01-30

How to Cite

Ilogho, S. O., & Klingelhöfer, H. E. (2026). The Influence of Inclusive Finance on Atmospheric Carbon Emissions. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 16(2), 1038–1047. https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.22777

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 2 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously , that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, without the written consent of the Publisher. The Editors reserve the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.