AbstractThis study develops a theoretical framework to quantify the impacts of technological progress, renewable energy consumption and international trade on carbon emissions (CO2), unlike many other studies that consider variables of interest in an ad hoc manner. The developed framework is then applied to the data from the BRICS countries for 1990–2017 period. The study also takes into consideration the integration, co‐integration, as well as cross‐country interdependence and heterogeneity properties of the panel data, and hence, the obtained results are robust and policy insights are well‐grounded. We estimate that technological progress, renewable energy consumption, and export size contribute to the reduction of the CO2 emissions, while gross domestic product (GDP) and import size increase the pollution both in the long‐ and short‐run. Our main policy recommendations would be the implementations of the measures, regulations, and establishment of the legislative frameworks that foster the technological enhancements and transition toward sustainable energy.