Payame Noor University Journals of Environmental Education and Sustainable Development 2322-3057 14 3 2026 05 22 Determinants of Iran’s Ecological Footprint: The Role of Education and Sustainable Energy Policies Determinants of Iran’s Ecological Footprint: The Role of Education and Sustainable Energy Policies 159 176 12757 10.30473/ee.2025.75189.2869 FA Ebrahim Alikhah Ph.D. Candidate in Economics - Economic Development, Aras International Campus, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Seyed Kamal Sadeghi Professor, Department of Economic Development and Planning, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Davood Behboudi Professor, Department of Economic Development and Planning, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Mohsen Pourebadolhan Covich Professor, Department of Economic Development and Planning, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Journal Article 2025 07 25 This study examines the factors influencing Iran's ecological footprint, with a special focus on the role of education and sustainable energy policies. The ecological footprint, as a critical indicator for assessing human pressure on natural resources, requires thorough analysis in Iran due to its heavy reliance on fossil fuels and environmental challenges. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption, economic growth, industrial value-added, and education on Iran's ecological footprint from 1961 to 2023, using the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model. The main research gap in prior studies is the lack of attention to education as a soft factor in sustainability alongside economic and energy variables, as well as the emphasis on linear relationships instead of exploring nonlinear and asymmetric effects. The innovation of this study lies in incorporating environmental education into the NARDL model for Iran for the first time, enabling the analysis of positive and negative shocks. The findings indicate that renewable energy consumption and sustainable economic growth reduce the ecological footprint in the short term, though positive and negative shocks may yield varying effects. In the long term, education plays a significant and reducing role. The results suggest that policymakers should promote clean energy, impose taxes on polluters, and enhance environmental education to reduce the ecological footprint and achieve sustainable development. This study emphasizes the importance of integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions. This study examines the factors influencing Iran's ecological footprint, with a special focus on the role of education and sustainable energy policies. The ecological footprint, as a critical indicator for assessing human pressure on natural resources, requires thorough analysis in Iran due to its heavy reliance on fossil fuels and environmental challenges. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption, economic growth, industrial value-added, and education on Iran's ecological footprint from 1961 to 2023, using the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model. The main research gap in prior studies is the lack of attention to education as a soft factor in sustainability alongside economic and energy variables, as well as the emphasis on linear relationships instead of exploring nonlinear and asymmetric effects. The innovation of this study lies in incorporating environmental education into the NARDL model for Iran for the first time, enabling the analysis of positive and negative shocks. The findings indicate that renewable energy consumption and sustainable economic growth reduce the ecological footprint in the short term, though positive and negative shocks may yield varying effects. In the long term, education plays a significant and reducing role. The results suggest that policymakers should promote clean energy, impose taxes on polluters, and enhance environmental education to reduce the ecological footprint and achieve sustainable development. This study emphasizes the importance of integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions. https://ee.journals.pnu.ac.ir/article_12757_474ea10bf9b23a399b7301165ee62464.pdf