Climate Finance, Institutions, and the Energy-Poverty Trap: A Dynamic Panel Analysis of Inclusive Green Transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Dataset SummaryThis dataset was compiled to examine the relationship between climate finance, institutional quality, and energy poverty within the framework of inclusive green transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The dataset contains a balanced panel of 46 Sub-Saharan African countries covering the period 2004–2022. It integrates multiple internationally recognized data sources to capture climate finance flows, governance quality, inclusive transition dynamics, and energy poverty outcomes.The primary dependent variable is Energy Poverty (ENPO), measured using indicators related to access to modern energy services and clean energy utilization. The key explanatory variables include climate adaptation finance and climate mitigation finance, which capture financial flows directed toward climate resilience and emissions-reduction initiatives, respectively. Institutional conditions are represented through a composite Institutional Quality (INSTQ) index derived from governance indicators. The dataset also includes an Inclusive Green Transition (IGT) index constructed to reflect the extent to which green transitions incorporate inclusive development dimensions such as energy access, social inclusion, and sustainable energy deployment.Additional control variables include foreign direct investment, trade openness, economic growth, and population dynamics, which are commonly associated with energy access and development outcomes. To examine conditional relationships, interaction terms between climate finance variables and the Inclusive Green Transition index are included.Data were obtained and harmonized from internationally recognized databases including the World Bank, OECD climate finance statistics, and governance indicators from the World Governance Indicators. All variables were standardized and transformed where necessary to ensure consistency across countries and time periods.The dataset was constructed for use in dynamic panel econometric analysis, particularly System GMM and panel ARDL–ECM models, to investigate whether climate finance alleviates or reinforces energy-poverty traps depending on the level of inclusive green transition and institutional conditions.The dataset accompanying this study enables replication of all empirical results presented in the manuscript and may also support further research on climate finance effectiveness, inclusive energy transitions, and sustainable development pathways in Sub-Saharan Africa.