Assessing the dynamic linkage between energy efficiency, renewable energy consumption, and CO2 emissions in China

Exploring the nexus between green finance and energy efficiency: Unravelling the impact through green technology innovation and energy structure

This study delves into the intricate relationship between green finance and energy efficiency, focusing on how green technology innovation and energy structure transformations contribute to this dynamic. Utilizing panel data from China's provinces over the period 2015-2022, the research aims to uncover the nuances of how green finance can serve as a catalyst for enhancing energy efficiency across different regions. The objective is to quantify the impact of green finance on energy efficiency, considering the mediating roles of green technology innovation and shifts in energy structure. The analysis employs a sophisticated panel entropy weighting technique to analyze the data, ensuring a robust examination of the relationships between these variables. The results reveal a significant positive impact of green finance on energy efficiency, mediated by advances in green technology and modifications in the energy structure towards more sustainable forms. Specifically, regions with higher engagement in green finance initiatives demonstrated marked improvements in energy efficiency, attributed to substantial investments in green technologies and a gradual shift away from traditional, inefficient energy sources. These findings underscore the pivotal role of green finance in driving the transition towards a more energy-efficient and sustainable economic model. Policy implications drawn from this study suggest that targeted financial policies promoting green investments can significantly bolster energy efficiency.

Incentive-compatible mechanism for manufacturing carbon emission supervision under carbon control policies in China

Enhance performance in manufacturing carbon emission (MCE) reduction has become a widespread consensus and a necessary part, which cannot be achieved without the joint participation of manufacturing enterprises and supervisory departments. Accordingly, how to coordinate the interests of both sides and design a reasonable incentive-compatible mechanism becomes an urgent task at present. Considering the two subsidy funding channels of peer funds and government finance, this study applies the evolutionary game model to analyze feasible schemes for designing incentive-compatible mechanism of MCE supervision, discusses and simulates the realistic scenarios and influencing factors of incentive-compatible mechanism under the non-subsidized and subsidized schemes. The results show that MCE supervision is in an incentive-incompatible state under the non-subsidized incentive scheme, while in a constrained incentive-compatible state under the subsidized incentive scheme. With the increase of peer funds and penalty coefficient or the decrease of subsidy coefficient, the period of MCE supervision to reach an incentive-compatible state becomes shorter. However, a lower peer fund and penalty coefficient or a higher subsidy coefficient will contribute to a state of incentive-incompatible or a periodic cycle state of "incentive-compatible → incentive-incompatible →incentive-compatible→…" in the MCE supervision.

Evaluating the impact of technological innovation and energy efficiency on load capacity factor: empirical analysis of India

The determinants of environmental degradation have been investigated many times by utilizing carbon dioxide emissions and/or ecological footprint. However, these traditional environmental degradation indicators do not consider the supply side of environmental problems. Therefore, this study focuses on the dynamic influence of financial development, energy efficiency, economic growth, and technological innovation on environmental degradation in India through the load capacity factor, including both the supply and demand sides of environmental problems. For that purpose, the recently developed dynamically simulated autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is employed using the annual time-series data extending from 1980-2020. The dynamically simulated ARDL results demonstrate that financial development, economic growth, and technological innovation have a dynamic adverse impact on the load capacity factor, whereas energy efficiency has a positive dynamic influence on environmental quality. In addition, the results support the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis as the negative effect of economic growth on environmental quality decreases over time. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations are provided for India. Finally, this study utilizing load capacity factor as an indicator for environmental quality will provide new topics in exploring the determinants of environmental degradation.

Evaluating the resource curse hypothesis and the interplay of financial development, human development, and political stability in seven emerging economies

The present study empirically confabulates the authenticity of the "resource curse hypothesis" in selected emerging nations. Furthermore, we also assessed the interconnections of three essential economic indicators with financial development, i.e., human development, political stability, and gross domestic product. To effectuate these objectives, we used annual data for the time frame 1990 to 2020 and advanced panel estimation techniques for getting the empirical outcomes. The study's empirical outcomes illustrate the existence of the "resource curse hypothesis" in sample nations. In addition, human development index and gross domestic product play an essential part in the furtherance of financial development in the long-run. The human development index is upsurging the financial development. Furthermore, political stability is also exerting a favorable influence on financial development. A similar interconnection is observed in the short-time period; nonetheless, the amplitude of the short-run impacts is smaller if we have a look at the long-run impacts. The empirical analysis offers a few pertinent policy insights for policymakers to improve the situation in the selected sample. Note: Financial development positively interconnected with human development, GDP and political stability while negatively associated with natural resources, respectively.

Does financial globalization promote renewable energy investment? Empirical insights from China

The increasing integration of financial markets worldwide has brought about significant changes in the investment landscape for renewable energy. However, the connection between financial globalization and renewable energy investment has gotten relatively little consideration. As a result, the analysis's main goal is to determine the asymmetric nexus between financial globalization and renewable energy investment in China, covering the period from 1995 to 2021. The influence of financial globalization on investments in renewable energy has been calculated using the linear and non-linear ARDL frameworks. Both methods analyze the short-run and long-run relationships between financial globalization and renewable energy investment. The linear model highlights the favorable influence of financial globalization on renewable energy investment in the short and long run. On the other side, the non-linear model implies that a rise in financial globalization increases investment in renewable energy in the short and long run, and the fall in financial globalization cause the renewable energy investment to fall only in the long run. In addition, national income help promote renewable energy investment in both the short and long run in linear and non-linear models. Therefore, encouraging international cooperation to develop renewable energy projects through public-private partnerships can increase investment flows and provide greater access to financing.

How do logistics and financial ındicators contribute to carbon emissions in Turkiye?

Increasing carbon emissions (CO2) due to factors such as energy consumption (enco), industrialization, increase in world population, and decrease in green areas with the industrial revolution is one of the main causes of both climate change and global warming. In this context, due to the increasing commercial activities in Turkiye, the rapid growth of energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the logistics sector alert the government. However, there is a lack of standard measures for evaluating GHG emissions generated from freight transport operations. To improve this situation, Turkiye's policymakers need to evaluate GHG emissions for energy saving and pollution reduction. This background leads us to examine the GHG emission trajectories and features of Turkiye's freight transport patterns in the last three decades. In this context, it is aimed to determine the impacts of financial development (findev), GDP per capita, energy consumption, and amount of freight carried by rail and road on CO2 emissions within the framework of 1990-2021 time-series data for Turkiye. By doing so, the ARDL bound testing cointegration test is employed and observes that independent variables have similar and different effects on CO2 emissions. Energy consumption, findev, and per capita income variables have a positive effect on CO2 emissions in Turkiye. According to these results, it is seen that the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is valid in Turkiye. However, the effect of rail and road freight transport (FT) on CO2 emissions is negative. The unexpected finding is related to road FT. The amount of freight transported by road has a decreasing effect on CO2 emissions in Turkiye. This paradoxical situation in Turkiye may be due to the developments in the transportation infrastructure, which has enabled the convergence of space and time in recent years, young and modern vehicle fleets, and the efficiency provided through logistics companies. The findings will assist in formulating specific and effective policies for Turkiye's transport sector.

Asymmetrical analysis of economic complexity and economic freedom on environment in South Asia: A NARDL approach

The environment has become a growing concern for many countries, as pollution and other environmental degradation can harm human health, economic growth, and overall well-being. This paper probes into the asymmetrical implications of economic complexity and freedom on ecological quality in four South Asian countries from 1995 to 2019. Using Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag methodology approach, our findings indicate that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are intensified by economic freedom both in the long and short term, while negative and positive shocks to economic complexity increase CO2 emissions in the long term. However, a negative economic complexity shock increases CO2 emissions, whereas a positive shock has the opposite effect in the short run. Moreover, our results confirm the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the long run. Furthermore, we find that renewable energy usage and the interaction of FDI and renewable energy usage can help reduce environmental damage in both the short and long run. The findings suggest that countries should focus on attracting foreign direct investment that promotes the use of renewable energy. Additionally, policies aimed at encouraging renewable energy use should be implemented. It is important to note that as economic freedom and complexity increase, there is a corresponding increase in CO2 emissions. Therefore, South Asian policy makers are advised to prioritize the reduction in fossil fuels, the promotion of energy-saving technologies and efficient production, and trade that encourages the transition of renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions.

Does green investments improve air quality? Evidence for developed and developing European countries

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of green investments on air quality for developed and developing European countries. In this context, the short- and long-term effects of green investments on air quality were examined by panel generalized method of moments (GMM) and panel causality method. As a result of the GMM analysis, it has been determined that green investments negatively affect the air quality for both developed European countries and developing European countries in the short term, but this effect turns positive in developed countries in the long term. As a result of the panel causality analysis, two-way causality was determined between air quality and green investments.

Evaluating the impacts of digitalization, financial efficiency, and education on renewable energy consumption: new evidence from China

Policymakers around the globe have used various options for controlling CO2 emissions, among which increasing renewable energy consumption has proved to be the most viable. Consequently, this research attempts to look into the effects of financial efficiency, education, and digitization on renewable energy consumption in China from 1994 to 2020. To estimate the short- and long-run relationship between the variables, we have utilized the QARDL approach. The results suggest that the ICT, financial institutions and market development, education, GDP, and CO2 emissions all help improve renewable energy consumption in China in the long run. In the short run, the ICT, financial institutions and markets, education, GDP, and CO2 emissions all proved to be beneficial in increasing renewable energy consumption. In order to test whether our independent variables have a symmetric or asymmetric impact on renewable energy consumption, the Wald test is applied, which confirms the long-run nonlinear impact of ICT, financial institutions and markets, education, GDP, and CO2 emissions on renewable energy consumption, while the short-run asymmetric impacts are confirmed for a financial institution and GDP only. Therefore, governments should reinforce the amalgamation of digitalization, financial efficiency, and education while formulating policies for renewable energy consumption.

Does tourism productivity respond to economic growth and CO2 emissions asymmetrically in Asian countries? The implication for sustainability

In this study, we have analyzed the asymmetric influence of tourism activities on economic growth and CO₂ emissions in selected Asian economies covering the time span from 1992 to 2020. The results are estimated using the panel NARDL approach. These results confer that a rise in tourism activities causes the CO₂ emissions to decline and economic growth to rise, whereas a fall in tourism activities causes the CO₂ emissions to rise and economic growth to decline in the long run. Similarly, internet use reduces CO₂ emissions and enhances economic growth in the long run. On the other side, financial efficiency causes CO₂ emissions to fall and economic growth to rise in the long run. The results propose essential policy implications.

Green growth and environmental quality in top polluted economies: the evolving role of financial institutions and markets

An efficient financial system is crucial for the attainment of green growth and superior environmental quality. Therefore, our focus in this analysis is to estimate the effect of financial institutions and markets on green growth and environmental quality in highly polluted economies from 1991 to 2019. Estimates of the variables are collected with the help of the ARDL bounds testing approach. Findings of the ARDL model imply that a financial institution's efficiency helps improve green growth in the USA, China, and Japan in the long-run. However, the efficiency of the financial markets causes the green economy to grow in the long run in China and Russia only. On the other side, in the CO₂ model, the long-run estimated coefficients of a financial institution's efficiency are negatively significant in Japan and China only, implying that a financial institution's efficiency significantly reduces CO₂ emissions. Similarly, the long-run estimates of financial markets are significantly negative in the context of China and Japan only in CO₂ emissions.

Do renewable energy consumption and green innovation help to curb CO2 emissions? Evidence from E7 countries

Global climate change is profoundly affecting human survival and development and is a major challenge facing the international community today. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of renewable energy consumption and green innovation on CO₂ emission reduction in E7 countries within the framework of macroeconomic indicators, and whether they can contribute to achieving carbon neutrality targets. To achieve the purpose of the study, firstly, the fully modified OLS, dynamic OLS, classical cointegration regression, Bayer-Hanck cointegration, and ARDL bounds test are employed in this study. The existence of a long-term cointegration or long-term linkage is confirmed by empirical evidence. Secondly, the empirical outcomes of FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR reveal that a 1% increase in renewable energy consumption and financial innovation reduces the CO₂ emissions by 0.357% (0.301%), 0.428% (0.336%), and 0.348% (0.306%), while a 1% rise in economic growth and inflation raises the CO₂ emissions by 0.881% (0.015%), 0.946% (0.043%), and 0.875 (0.022%), respectively. Similarly, the results of ARDL demonstrate that renewable energy consumption and financial innovation contribute to the improvement of environmental quality, while economic growth and inflation exacerbate the deterioration of environmental quality. However, green innovation has no apparent impact on environmental sustainability. Finally, in the short term, the paths of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on environmental sustainability under macroeconomic conditions are almost identical to those in the long term, while green innovation significantly improves the environmental quality of economic development in E7 countries. To sum up, to achieve sustainable economic and environmental development in the context of carbon neutrality, policy makers in developing countries should fully consider the role of renewable energy and green innovation, and actively strive to promote green and low-carbon energy development, to make new contributions to global environmental governance.

Environmental factors and its influence on human health in BRICS: implications for human development

BRICS economies are facing severe environmental issues that exert a detrimental impact on human health. The analysis intends to examine the impact of CO₂ emissions, environmental policy stringency, and environmental innovations on health outcomes for the BRICS economies. The long-run results of the ARDL-PMG infer that CO₂ has a significant negative in the life expectancy model while it has a significant positive in the death rate model. These findings imply that the rise in CO₂ emissions reduces life expectancy and increases the death rate in BRICS economies. On the other side, the estimates of environmental innovation and environmental policy stringency are positively significant in the life expectancy model; however, in the death rate model, the estimate of environmental innovation is insignificant, and environmental policy stringency is negatively significant in the death rate model. In a nutshell, the findings imply that CO₂ emissions exacerbate health problems, environmental innovations, and environmental policy stringency, improving the health status of the people. Our findings suggest that the BRICS economies should revisit their environmental policies for the betterment of human health.

Financial integration and renewable energy consumption in China: do education and digital economy development matter?

Renewable energy is considered vital to addressing the issue of climate change and energy poverty. In recent times, empirics have tried to find the determinants of renewable energy consumption. Hence, the primary focus of the analysis is to estimate the impact of financial integration, education, and ICT on renewable energy consumption in China. In order to get the estimate of the variables, the analysis has applied the quantile ARDL model. The long-run estimates of the financial integration are positively significant at most quantiles, confirming the positive impact of financial integration on renewable energy consumption. Similarly, the long-run estimates of ICT are positively significant in almost all quantiles, confirming that digitalization helps increase renewable energy consumption in China. The long-term effect of education is significant at the higher quantiles. In the short run, the estimated coefficients of financial integration are positively significant at almost all quantiles; however, the estimated coefficients of ICT are positively significant in half quantiles. The short-run results of education are insignificant at most quantiles. In line with these results, several appropriate financial integration, digitalization, and education policies are recommended.

Determinants of China's renewable energy industry development: do eco-innovation and financial inclusion matter?

Fossil fuels are causing irreparable damage to the environment and lead to the depletion of reservoirs of coal, oil, and gas, which may give rise to the issue of energy scarcity and security. Therefore, policymakers and empirics have looked for alternative sources of energy that are affordable, reliable, and clean sources of energy. Consistent with this view, we have tried to examine the impact of eco-innovation and financial inclusion on renewable energy development in China. In order to empirically investigate, we have applied the autoregressive distributive lag model. The long-run estimates of eco-innovations are statistically significant and positive models, confirming that environmental-related innovations help increase the production of different renewable energy. Similarly, the long-run estimates of financial inclusion are positively significant, implying that an increase in financial inclusiveness intensifies the production of solar, biomass, and renewable energy in China. Generally, our findings imply that both eco-innovations and financial inclusion help increase renewable energy production in China in the long run.

An analysis of the effects of human capital on green growth: effects and transmission channels

In this digitalized world, economies have energetically encouraged green transformation. The empirical findings regarding the nexus between human capital and green growth are relatively inconclusive. The study originally explores the effect of human capital on the green growth of a digital economy like China from 1991 to 2019. To investigate the model empirically, we have applied the ARDL technique. Our results indicate that there is a positive impact of different levels of education on the green growth of China in the long run. Regression results also show that renewable energy consumption, internet use, and financial development lead to expansion in green growth in the long run. Our findings can strengthen the belief of the Chinese government on the advancement of green growth.

Clean energy consumption and CO2 emissions: does China reduce some pollution burdens through environmental regulation?

Environmental regulations are considered a prerequisite for environmental performance. However, very limited studies have explored the asymmetric relationship between clean energy consumption, environmental regulation, and CO₂ emissions. This study scrutinizes the asymmetry phenomenon in environmental regulation-clean energy consumption and environmental quality nexus in China by using the time series nonlinear ARDL approach by covering the period 1993-2019. The result reveals that the impact of environmental regulation on clean energy consumption and CO₂ emissions is asymmetric. A positive change in environmental regulation has a positive effect on clean energy consumption but a negative impact on CO₂ emissions in the long run. While a negative change in environmental regulation has insignificant effects on clean energy consumption and CO₂ emissions in the long run. The study suggests that China should need to revisit environmental regulation policies that could help in improving environmental quality.

Pro-environmental behavior–Renewable energy transitions nexus: Exploring the role of higher education and information and communications technology diffusion

The most accepted solution to deal with the problems of global warming and climate change is to transform the energy sector by moving toward renewable energy. Therefore, the primary focus of the analysis is to examine the role of renewable energy consumption, higher education, and ICT in improving environmental quality and green growth in China. We have employed the quantile ARDL model to obtain the short-and long-run estimates. According to the findings of QARDL, the long-run estimated coefficients of renewable energy consumption and higher education are positively significant in most quantiles. However, in the long run, the estimates attached to ICT are insignificant in the CO2 emissions model in most quantiles. On the other hand, the estimates of renewable energy consumption are significantly positive from the 50th quantile and onward in the green growth model, confirming that the higher the renewable energy in the economy, closer it will get to the target of green economic growth. The long-run estimates of higher education and ICT are positively significant at most quantiles in the green growth model. In the short run, renewable energy consumption turned out to be the most critical determinant of CO2 emissions and green growth.

Does education matter in China? Myths about financial inclusion and energy consumption

China is the most polluted economy in the world, facing the challenges of increased CO₂ emissions. In this way, energy consumption is a key factor in CO₂ emissions. To this end, this study empirically examines the effects of financial inclusion and education on energy consumption by employing the ARDL approach for China during the period 1995-2019. The results suggest that financial inclusion has a positive effect on renewable energy consumption, but a negative impact on renewable energy and total energy consumption. The results show that education reduces non-renewable consumption and increases renewable energy consumption in the long term. Long-run and short-run findings are also consistent and robust in the sensitivity analysis. Based on findings, China should invest in the education sector and increase financial inclusion to reduce energy consumption to meet environmental sustainability.

A step towards green economic policy framework: role of renewable energy and climate risk for green economic recovery

According to the World Bank, energy efficiency is a critical facilitator of most Sustainable Development Goals. Its contribution to CO2 emission reduction is astounding. Environmentalists have recently emphasized the essential need to determine energy efficiency causes. This research broadens the debate's horizons by proposing additional possible energy efficiency factors using data from the Chinese economy. From 1990 to 2020, we examined the influence of investment in renewable energy resources, financial inclusion, industrial production, and trade openness on China's energy efficiency and climate risk. Additionally, this study is added to the literature by examining the causal relationships between variables while considering the temporal dimension. The findings indicate that industrial production, financial inclusion, public R&D on renewable energy, and trade openness contribute significantly to China's energy efficiency and climate risk. All other factors, except industrial production, are positively associated with energy efficiency. The path of causality is established from energy efficiency and climate risk to financial inclusion, industrial production, renewable energy, public research and development budgets, and trade openness. According to the findings, changes in energy performance have frequency-changing impacts on all variables. Policymakers believe that the financial system must be strengthened since this will significantly influence renewable energy.

Exploring the asymmetric determinants of consumption and production-based CO2 emissions in China

Environmental pollution has intensified significantly in the last few decades. Policymakers have considered this issue due to its direct influence on human lives throughout the globe. This study explores the asymmetric determinants of consumption-based and production-based CO₂ emissions for China, for time horizon 1990-2019. ARDL and NARDL regression approaches have been adopted for empirical investigation. The ARDL regression method reveals that GDP does not produce any impact on production-based and consumption-based CO₂ emissions, while energy use contributes as an increasing determinant of consumption-based and production-based CO₂ emissions in the long-run. The NARDL regression method reveals that a positive shock in GDP is beneficial for a decline of consumption-based CO₂ emissions, while it does not reduce production-based CO₂ emissions in the long-run. However, negative shock in GDP contributes as an increasing determinant of consumption-based CO₂ emissions. Results also report that positive shock in energy use behaves as an increasing agent of consumption-based and production-based CO₂ emissions in the long-run, while negative shock in energy use produces a decline in production-based CO₂ emissions in the long-run. Thus, policymakers should adopt such demand and supply sides' management policies that contribute to controlling CO₂ emissions.

Decomposing the asymmetric effects of terrorism and FDI on carbon emission: evidence from fragile economies

Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that creates economic, political, social, and environmental problems. The literature infers that little consideration is delivered to the nexus of terrorism and pollution emissions. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is a pioneer that investigates the linear/symmetric and non-linear/asymmetric impacts of foreign direct investment and terrorism on the CO₂ emissions for ten fragile economies. For the empirical task, the study collected data for time 1973 to 2019 and employed ARDL and NARDL approaches. The findings demonstrate an asymmetric association between foreign direct investment (FDI), terrorism, and CO₂ emissions. The findings infer that positive changes in FDI and terrorism have a significant positive impact on CO₂ emissions. However, the negative changes in FDI and terrorism significantly impact CO₂ emissions in most economies. Furthermore, the NARDL approach delivers more explanatory and powerful estimates for selected countries in contrast to the ARDL approach. On the basis of these findings, the study delivers some appropriate policies to combat terrorism.

Asymmetric macroeconomic determinants of energy intensity in China: does economic development matter?

Previously, several studies have tried to analyze the various determinants of energy intensity for different countries and regions. However, none of the studies have focused on the asymmetric determinants of energy intensity in the context of China. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to investigate the asymmetric determinants of energy intensity in China. We have gathered data for China over the period 1985-2019 and applied linear and non-linear ARDL models. In the linear model, only energy prices reduce the energy intensity in the long run. Moreover, the long-run effects of both energy prices and economic development are asymmetric; however, positive changes in both variables help to reduce energy intensity. Clearly, the results are asymmetric in nature; hence, the policymakers should consider both positive and negative shocks in energy prices and economic development while making any policy with regard to lowering energy intensity.

Patents on Environmental Technologies and Environmental Sustainability in Spain

Through an in-depth evaluation of the potential effectiveness of intellectual property protection on environmental technologies, the aim of the present research is to investigate the effect of patents on environmental innovation, energy use, GDP, and trade openness on environmental deregulation in Spain using nonlinear ARDL techniques. Specifically, the study findings indicate that patents on environmental technologies enhance environ-mental sustainability in Spain, as evidenced by the novel results from the nonlinear ARDL. Secondly, our study reveals that Spain’s growing economy degrades the quality of the environment. Based on the findings of the study, positive changes in trade openness could have positive effects on Spain’s environmental sustainability, suggesting that better productivity, more international trade, and increased economic openness could facilitate an improvement in Spain’s environmental impact. Lastly, this study provides evidence demonstrating that Spain’s environmental quality could suffer due to excessive energy consumption. In the light of this study’s policy recommendations, the policymakers and the Spanish government should encourage collaboration between private and public partnerships on environmental technologies to address global climate change or regional pollution. It is necessary for research and development to contribute to the development of technological progress in the Spanish energy sector; however, promoting patenting should be prioritized. By expanding patent protection, eco-friendly technologies that can combat carbon emissions can be developed swiftly in Spain, which will enable life to be more sustainable by lowering the use of energy and resources. A strong patent protection sys-tem will foster environmentally-friendly technologies and economic development while reducing CO2 emissions in Spain.