Navigating sustainable development: exploring the environmental Kuznets curve in the SAARC region with global stochastic trends

The intricate relationship between environment, globalization, and tourism has sparked captivating debates among researchers. Current work aims to explore the combined effects GDP, GDP squre(Kuznets curve) globalization, tourism development and financial development on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. In particular, the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis within the SAARC region during 1995–2022 is investigated. To discern the long-term relationship between the variables, advanced estimators, namely continuous-updated fully modified and continuously updated and bias-corrected models, are employed. Findings indicate that globalization and tourism development contribute to increased emissions, while financial development helps in mitigating carbon emissions. It is emphasized that comprehensive changes encompassing economic, social, and political aspects are imperative to effectively curb emissions in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. Policy makers should give careful attention to regional trade patterns, and the decision-makers of the SAARC countries are suggested to establish robust governmental and statutory frameworks to support sustainable tourism development. Furthermore, fostering financial development, particularly in the financial and private sectors, holds potential for addressing environmental degradation effectively. Graphical abstract