Driving environmental sustainability: The effects of sustainable supply chain management, fossil fuel consumption, and trade openness

The escalating apprehensions surrounding climate change have intensified the urgency for effective measures to curb carbon emissions. This study addresses this problem by exploring the dynamic impact of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM), Fossil Fuel Consumption (FFC), Trade Openness (TOP), and the Digital Economy (DGE) on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in Latin American countries. Using panel data from 2000 to 2020 and applying the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), the study investigates how these determinants influence CO 2 emissions across different emission quantiles. The empirical results reveal that a 1% increase in SSCM adoption reduces CO 2 emissions by 0.618%. In comparison, a 1% expansion of the digital economy reduces emissions by 0.575%, highlighting the environmental benefits of sustainable logistics and digital innovation. In contrast, a 1% rise in FFC leads to a 0.849% increase in CO 2 emissions, and a 1% rise in trade openness contributes to a 0.489% rise in emissions. These findings are consistent across quantile levels and are robust to estimations using CCE-MG and AMG models. Moreover, causality tests reveal a unidirectional causal flow from SSCM, FFC, DGE, and TOP to CO 2 emissions, underlining the significance of these variables in shaping environmental outcomes. The study presents a significant contribution by quantifying the heterogeneous effects of emerging digital and trade dynamics on environmental sustainability in Latin America. The study further provides significant policy recommendations, emphasizing the need to promote green digital innovations and sustainable supply chain practices while reforming fossil fuel and trade policies to achieve long-term climate goals.