Assessing the green energy development in China and its carbon reduction effect: Using a quantile approach

Abstract

Developing green energy has become a critical way to deal with energy shortage and global warming. The objective is to investigate the driving factors of green energy development in China, and further evaluate the role of green energy in carbon reduction. This article uses the data-driven nonparametric model to investigate green energy development, and obtains several interesting results. (1) Technological progress has the greatest impact on the green energy development in Ningxia, Jilin, and Jiangxi provinces, due to faster R&D investment. (2) The changes in oil prices have a larger driving effect on green energy development in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Shanxi, and Beijing. (3) Fixed asset investment contributes the most to the energy-rich provinces such as Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and Gansu, because of faster investment in energy infrastructure. (4) The provinces with low green energy production face greater environmental pressure, owing to excessive reliance on fossil fuels. (5) Finally, the results display that the carbon reduction effect of green energy development is not prominent, on account of less green energy consumption. These empirical findings provide policy implications for China's effective promotion of green energy.