Poverty, Unemployment, and Carbon Emissions: Evaluating South Asia's Progress toward SDG Achievement

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Asia remains a significant challenge due to the intertwined issues of poverty, unemployment, carbon emissions, and economic growth. This study investigates the relationship between these key factors and the achievement of SDGs, particularly SDG1 (No Poverty), SDG8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG13 (Climate Action), across eight South Asian countries from 2000 to 2023. The primary objectives are to examine how poverty, unemployment, carbon emissions, and GDP growth influence SDG performance, analyze their interlinkages, and provide policy recommendations for addressing these challenges in an integrated manner. The study employs a robust econometric approach, utilizing panel data techniques such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects (FE), Random Effects (RE), Population-Averaged (PA), and Instrumental Variables Generalized Method of Moments (IV-GMM) to account for endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. The findings reveal that poverty significantly hinders SDG achievement, particularly SDG1, while unemployment shows complex effects on the SDGs, positively impacting SDG1 but negatively affecting SDG13. Carbon emissions are positively correlated with SDGs, especially SDG1 and SDG8, suggesting that environmental sustainability plays a crucial role in development. However, GDP growth exhibits a mixed relationship with the SDGs, highlighting the need to decouple growth from environmental degradation. Policy recommendations emphasize integrated strategies focusing on poverty alleviation, job creation in sustainable sectors, reducing carbon emissions, and promoting environmentally responsible economic growth to foster inclusive and sustainable development in South Asia.