The study investigated the impact of environmental regulations on foreign direct investment: Evidence from an emerging economy. Data from 2005 to 2023 was employed in the study. The Granger causality and ordinary least square (OLS) technique was used to estimate the data. The finding showed that environmental regulation Granger causes foreign direct investment, but foreign direct investment does not Granger cause environmental regulation. There is a bi-directional causal relationship between carbon emission and FDI. It is observed that GDP Granger causes FDI, but FDI does not Granger cause GDP. Also, environmental regulation impacts FDI negatively and is statistically insignificant. A negative insignificant relationship between carbon emissions and FDI is observed. A negative and significant relationship exists between GDP and FDI. Based on the findings from the study, the following recommendations are made: policymakers should focus on improving the regulatory environment in ways that encourage sustainable development, and policymakers should consider improving factors like infrastructure, human capital, and the business environment to offset the negative relationship between GDP and FDI in order to attract more foreign investments.