Is there a trade-off between human well-being and ecological footprint in European countries?

Human development, which encompasses aspects such as health, education, standard of living, and general wellbeing, is intrinsically linked to environmental sustainability. Studying the trade-off between these two aspects helps ensure that current needs are met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The present study aims to understand whether there is a trade-off between the Ecological Footprint (EF) and the Human Development Index (HDI), using data from 42 European countries from 2006 to 2018. Other variables were also employed (Financial Development Index, Globalization Index, Human Freedom Index, Urban Population, Biocapacity, Renewable Energy) in two main models, through several econometric tests (Interactive Fixed Effects, Common Correlated Effect Mean Group). Other models were estimated for robustness checks. It is concluded that there is a trade-off between the EF and the HDI. This leads to problems when trying to achieve human well-being and environmental sustainability simultaneously. This study is innovative as the relationship between human development and environmental degradation has not been analyzed using these two variables for European countries. Understanding the relationship between human development and EF is fundamental to developing effective policies. It is important to adopt integrated approaches that consider social, economic, and environmental aspects.