Blessing or curse: The role of diversity matters in stimulating or relegating environmental sustainability—a global perspective via renewable and non-renewable energy.

This paper analyses the effects of ethnic and religious diversity on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption for 187 countries worldwide (categorised into high-, middle-, and low-income countries) from 1990 to 2020. This study determines the long-run relationship between the variables using panel fixed effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) models. The results show that ethnic and religious diversity have significant positive impacts on renewable energy consumption and vice versa on non-renewable energy consumption. Furthermore, the results are more significant for high- and middle-income countries than for low-income countries. This study suggests that diversity is a natural phenomenon; however, its disastrous effects may be curtailed by providing equal opportunities and promoting a peaceful society, as done in high-income countries, to ensure the well-being of the people through cohesiveness. Policymakers need to promote collective action and communication among different groups while acknowledging that investment for public benefits often requires broad social consensus and solidarity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]