The aim of this research is to examine the asymmetric effects of climate uncertainty policy (CU), innovation, and institutional performance on environmental degradation in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries from 1990 to 2021. The novel study looks at emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (N2O), \(sulphur\) dioxide (SO2), methane (CH4), and ecological footprint (EFP) as proxies for environmental deterioration using the Panel Non-linear Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) technique. To evaluate institutional performance and ecological innovations, respectively, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used with six and twelve indicators. The Panel NARDL findings affirms that the positive and negative change of climate uncertainty policy, and ecological innovation have positive association with environment (CO2, N2O, SO2, CH4 and EFP), Furthermore, the positive and negative shock of negative change institutional performance has negative and significant relation with CO2, N2O, SO2, CH4 and EFP in long run. In order to attain environmental sustainability, this study conclusion emphasizes the significance of promoting innovation, building institutions, and backing free trade policies among the BRICS nations. These findings offer insightful information on the intricate relationships that these countries' energy use, institutional strength, ecological innovations, and emissions have with one another. Our empirical findings suggest that the fossil fuel industry may see continuous expansion as a result of policy uncertainty related to climate change. Lastly, a few specific policies are recommended in light of the empirical findings.
