<p>Financial inclusion’s meteoric rise has changed the face of society and the economy, opening up new doors of opportunity for people, companies, and nations. However, environmental degradation remains a significant challenge, requiring a reorientation of policies to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This pertinent issue may necessitate a policy reorientation to be resolved. This study intends to examine the effects of financial inclusion, green growth, urbanization, technological innovation, and renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide emissions and ecological footprint in Pakistan from 1990 to 2022. Financial inclusion is assessed using three proxies indexed by principal component analysis (PCA). We used the nonlinear auto-distributive lag model, to investigate the asymmetric relationship between financial inclusion, green growth, and environmental sustainability. Empirical results support the asymmetric linkage between financial inclusion, green growth, and environmental sustainability in short and long turns. Furthermore, technological advancement and urbanization help to ease the course of environmental degradation. On the other hand, renewable energy consumption considerably contributes to lowering carbon pollution and ecological footprints in both the short and long term. The significance of the current research is assessed by looking at both linear and nonlinear trends in several aspects of financial inclusion, green growth, carbon emissions, and ecological footprint dimensions, in addition to other explanatory variables. Our study helps other countries to create specific strategies to accomplish SDGs (7 and 11). Our study also provides valuable insights that can inform policymaking and guide the development of specific plans to promote environmental sustainability in Pakistan.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>