Environmental factors and its influence on human health in BRICS: implications for human development

BRICS economies are facing severe environmental issues that exert a detrimental impact on human health. The analysis intends to examine the impact of CO₂ emissions, environmental policy stringency, and environmental innovations on health outcomes for the BRICS economies. The long-run results of the ARDL-PMG infer that CO₂ has a significant negative in the life expectancy model while it has a significant positive in the death rate model. These findings imply that the rise in CO₂ emissions reduces life expectancy and increases the death rate in BRICS economies. On the other side, the estimates of environmental innovation and environmental policy stringency are positively significant in the life expectancy model; however, in the death rate model, the estimate of environmental innovation is insignificant, and environmental policy stringency is negatively significant in the death rate model. In a nutshell, the findings imply that CO₂ emissions exacerbate health problems, environmental innovations, and environmental policy stringency, improving the health status of the people. Our findings suggest that the BRICS economies should revisit their environmental policies for the betterment of human health.