The escalating threat of climate change has placed carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the forefront of global environmental policy. The relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and information technology (IT) is crucial in shaping international climate change strategies. This study investigates the impact of information technology, trade globalisation (TG), and economic complexity (EC) on CO2 emissions in BRICS countries using panel data from 1996 to 2018. The analysis applies the CUP-FM estimator to assess long-run relationships and the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test to evaluate directionality. The results show that information technology significantly reduces CO2 emissions. This effect is primarily driven by the promotion of the service sector, reduced material use, and improved energy efficiency. In contrast, trade globalisation has an inconsistent impact. While it can lower emissions through technology diffusion and efficiency gains, it can also increase them due to Scale Effects and the relocation of polluting industries. This study also identifies a U-shaped relationship between economic complexity and CO2 emissions, indicating that emissions initially rise with complexity but decline as innovation and clean production practices improve. These findings suggest that developing digital infrastructure and green technologies and trade Globalisation can promote sustainable development in BRICS economies. Therefore, policymakers should prioritise strengthening the IT environment, fostering international trade partnerships, and integrating clean technologies to balance economic growth with environmental protection.

Environmental challenges have become the focus of the pursuit of the sustainability and net-zero emissions objectives by countries. So, there is a need to comprehend what determines Environmental Policy Stringency (EPS). The paper looks at the impact of energy vulnerability (EV), energy transition (ET), urbanisation (U), Research and Development (R&D), population growth (PG) and Economic Growth (EG) on Environmental Policy Stringency. It is based on panel information of 40 countries that are committed to the net-zero emissions by 1990–2023. Advanced econometric tools, including the cross-sectional dependence test, panel unit root and cointegration tests, and estimators, such as CS-ARDL, CCEMG, AMG, Driscoll-Kraay, FMOLS, and DOLS, are used to investigate long-term relationships. Its results indicate that the variables are cross-sectionally dependent and have a long-run equilibrium relationship which implies the interdependence between environmental policies, energy systems and economic conditions across nations. According to the long-run estimates, the energy vulnerability, energy transition, R&D, and economic growth are significant factors that determine Environmental Policy Stringency. The interest of governments in stricter environmental policies and environmental governance is increasing with high-energy vulnerability and the transition to renewable energy. Economic growth is also a favourable variable in Environmental Policy Stringency that favours the EKC hypothesis. The negative effects of urbanisation and population growth, on the contrary, are negative yet statistically insignificant, which suggests that demographic variables play a weak role. Overall, the findings evidence the necessity of creating renewable energy and technology, ensuring sustainable economic growth, improving environmental policy and long-term net-zero objectives.