<p>This paper assesses the impact of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) and renewable energy consumption (REN) on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the G7 countries in 2000–2024. It also examines the moderating role of institutional quality (IQ) and mediating role of technological innovation (TECH) in those relationships. The study is conducted through the assistance of the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) to investigate the effect of CPU and REN on the GHG emissions at different levels of GHG emissions by relying on the secondary data given by the World Bank and other open sources. The results show that CPU has a negative impact on GHG emissions, particularly in low-emission countries, whereas high institutional quality (IQ) offsets the negative impact, which stimulates investments in green. Even though most of the countries adopt renewable energy to minimize GHG emission, this is limited by infrastructure issues especially in the high-emission countries. It is found that the connection between CPU, REN, and GHG emissions is mediated by technological innovation (TECH) particularly in high-emission countries. In addition, GHG emissions are also influenced by urbanization, economic development, and foreign direct investment (FDI). The results emphasize how technological innovation and good institutional frameworks played an important role in the reduction of the emissions during the climate policy uncertainty. The policymakers must focus on improving institutional structures, technology, and infrastructure investments to expand the magnitude of the uptake of renewable energy and to maximize the reduction of emissions.</p> Graphical abstract