Green Sustainability Outcome: What States Actions Portrays Among West African States

Government actions are crucial for advancing green sustainability, mainly through a combination of regulatory, economic, and informational policies. Regulatory measures, like setting emissions standards or banning single-use plastics, directly control harmful environmental activities. This study examines the consequence of state actions on promoting green sustainability. Panel data from sixteen West African countries were collected and analyzed using the Panel GMM analytical techniques. Data for the study were obtained from both World development indicator database as well as the Kneoma data base. The data were from the period of 2003 to 2023. Findings from the analysis indicates that a positive relationship exist between regulatory quality and green sustainability which signals that effective regulatory frameworks are associated with improved sustainability outcomes. Equally, a positive relationship exists between voice and accountability and green sustainability which again suggests that higher levels of citizen participation, transparency, and accountability are associated with better environmental and sustainability outcomes. Finally, a negative relationship exists between green sustainability and government effectiveness. This suggests that governments in West Africa prioritize economic growth and development indices over environmental sustainability. It is recommended among others that West African states should invest in building robust environmental regulatory agencies with clear mandates, transparency, and accountability. They should equally, develop and implement clear environmental policies that gives incentive to green technologies, renewable energy, and sustainable resource use. Finally, West African countries should invest in training regulators, policymakers, and communities to improve compliance on sustainability practices.