One of the main objectives of economic policy is to ensure sustainable economic growth. However, in today’s context, development is not solely assessed through growth rates, but also in conjunction with factors such as environmental sustainability and energy usage. In this regard, the Human Development Index (HDI) emerges as a comprehensive measure that considers not only economic growth but also environmental impacts. This study examines the effects of per capita income, renewable energy consumption, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions on the HDI for Brazil, South Africa, India, Russia, and Turkey over the period 1991–2021. In the analysis, the ADF and PP unit root tests were first applied to determine the stationarity of the series. Then, the ARDL bounds testing approach was employed to investigate the long-term cointegration relationships among the variables, followed by parameter estimation. The findings reveal that in Brazil, per capita income, renewable energy consumption, and CO₂ emissions have positive and significant effects on the HDI. In South Africa, while per capita income and renewable energy consumption positively influence the HDI, CO₂ emissions have a negative and significant impact. In the case of India, the effect of per capita income on HDI is statistically insignificant, whereas renewable energy consumption and CO₂ emissions negatively and significantly affect the HDI. In Turkey, per capita income has a positive and significant effect, but renewable energy consumption shows a negative and significant relationship with the HDI. In Russia, per capita income positively influences the HDI, while both renewable energy consumption and CO₂ emissions exhibit negative and significant impacts. These results indicate that the effect of economic growth on human development varies across countries and highlight the importance of incorporating environmental considerations into development policies.