Abstract
Due to an increasing number of issues such as climate change, sustainable development has become an important theme worldwide. Sustainable development is inseparable from technological innovation. Only by making technological breakthroughs can we ensure the overall integration of economic development and environmental protection. Here, based on China’s inter-provincial panel data from 2006 to 2019, we examine the relationship between green technological innovation and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 30 provinces (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet) and sub-regions (eastern, central, and western China) in China using a space panel econometric model based on the STIRPAT equation. Additionally, we use geographic information analysis methods to analyze the spatial pattern and evolution characteristics of CO2 emissions. Our major finding is that, from the perspective of the whole country, green technology innovation has a negative correlation with carbon emissions, but the effect is not obvious. In addition, from the regional sample, green technology innovation in the eastern and central regions can effectively reduce carbon emissions, while in the western region, green technology innovation can promote carbon emissions in the province. At the same time, the research results show a strong spatial spillover effect of inter-provincial carbon dioxide emissions, and the progress of green technology in neighboring provinces has a negative impact on carbon emissions in their own provinces. Therefore, cross-province policies and actions for reducing carbon emissions are necessary. Additionally, our results show that carbon-emission driving factors, such as economic development, industrial structure, energy consumption structure, and population, have a significant positive effect on carbon dioxide emissions. Based on the above research results, we put forward corresponding policy recommendations.
Highlights
In recent years, the continuous accumulation of carbon dioxide emissions has produced a series of environmental problems, such as global warming and frequent outbreaks of extremely severe weather
Technological innovation is an important factor influencing carbon dioxide emissions, but related research mainly focused on the impact of technological innovation on CO2 emissions, and few studies consider the impact on CO2 emissions from the perspective of green technology innovation with the goal of energy saving and emission reduction
The third is based on the efficiency measurement method of green innovation input and output using the parametric method represented by stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) and the non-parametric method represented by data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of green technology innovation
Summary
The continuous accumulation of carbon dioxide emissions has produced a series of environmental problems, such as global warming and frequent outbreaks of extremely severe weather. It is assumed that technology innovation can promote the transition toward environmentally oriented lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions It is frequently considered as the crucial way to achieve green growth (Albino et al, 2014; Cheng et al, 2018; Shao and Zhong, 2021a). Technological innovation is an important factor influencing carbon dioxide emissions, but related research mainly focused on the impact of technological innovation on CO2 emissions, and few studies consider the impact on CO2 emissions from the perspective of green technology innovation with the goal of energy saving and emission reduction. Because the effect of green tech innovation on carbon emissions varies with the level of economic development, this study explores the impact of the former from multiple perspectives across China and the eastern, central, and western sub-regions. It helps us to have a comprehensive understanding of the influencing factors behind the evolution in China’s CO2 emissions
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