Kuznets Curve In China Research Articles

Carbon Kuznets curve in China: Nighttime light analysis in prefecture-level cities

Analysing the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions may help China to determine how to reduce carbon emissions. This study examined 221 Chinese prefecture-level cities using data from 2003 to 2018 to investigate the possible inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, based on per capita nighttime light brightness. This revealed a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita nighttime and carbon emissions with a per capita GDP of 139.8 thousand Yuan corresponding to the turning point. For China to achieve its carbon emissions peak before 2030, the per capita GDP growth rate would need to be at least 6.6 %. Therefore, for help prefecture-level cities to achieve peak carbon, they must strive towards high-quality economic growth and accelerate transformation of economic growth modes to improve low-carbon pilot policies, and such projects should be implemented in more cities. Efforts to achieve peak should be accelerated first in eastern cities and later in western cities.

An interregional environmental assessment framework: revisiting environmental Kuznets curve in China.

Achieving the national emission reduction targets requires joint efforts of all jurisdictions, whose sustainable development is affected by complex economic and environmental interactions among regions. An interregional environmental assessment (IREA) framework is constructed for China using multiregional input-output techniques to unravel the carbon emission connections behind interregional economic activities. Then, consumption-based emission accounting is applied in sustainability assessment, in comparison with production-based environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) tests to examine the role of regional connections in shaping EKC. Empirical results expose significant asymmetric CO2 transfer among regions in China, where the Central and Western regions have become CO2 haven for the Eastern region. EKC is valid at the national level and manifests marked regional differences between production- and consumption-based curves. The pollution haven effect alters the EKC curve by expediting the emission peak in the developed Eastern region while delaying it in the developing Western region. Thus, revisiting EKCs in the IREA framework reveals that ignoring interregional connections would lead to misleading results. Only when both production- and consumption-based EKCs transcend their turning points can we claim that environmental governance has ushered in a new era of sustainable development.

Evaluating the U-shaped environmental kuznets curve in China: The impact of high technology exports and renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions

China's efforts to reduce carbon emissions have stagnated, raising doubts about its commitment to addressing climate change. This study examines the relationship between China's renewable energy, high-tech exports, coal combustion, inbound foreign investment, economic growth, and carbon emissions from 1995 to 2020. The findings reveal a U-shaped relationship between renewable fuel consumption and carbon emissions over the long term, while short-term results show a consistent decrease in emissions. High-tech exports have contributed to reducing carbon emissions, but foreign investment has led to increased emissions, supporting the pollution halo concept. Economic growth is linked to higher carbon emissions in the long run. The study emphasizes the need for China to upgrade its renewable energy initiatives and promote high-tech exports while being cautious about foreign investment. Effective coordination among sectors and stakeholders is essential for reducing carbon emissions in China's renewable energy industry.

A study of the nonlinear dynamic interrelationship between CO2 emissions and logistics sector output growth

Using provincial panel data spanning from 1995 to 2020, this paper examines the nonlinear interrelationship between logistics carbon dioxide emissions and output growth. For this purpose, we conduct a nonlinear co-integration test in heterogeneous panels; our results suggests a long-run relationship between these two variables. In contrast, adjustment to the equilibrium is inherently nonlinear. Furthermore, we estimate a panel smooth transition vector error correction model. Our major contributions, as we know, are the first study confirming the existence of a dynamic mechanism between logistics carbon dioxide emissions and regional output growth and the Environmental Kuznets Curve in China. Last, the interaction between logistics carbon dioxide emissions and regional output growth varies over the output growth in Chinese provinces and autonomous regions. Our results highlight the importance of considering possible nonlinearities in analyzing output-carbon dioxide emissions causality nexus and designing energy policies.

An Empirical Study on Environmental Kuznets Curve in China

An Empirical Study on Environmental Kuznets Curve in China

Educational attainment and environmental Kuznets curve in China: an aggregate and disaggregate analysis.

The primary focus of this study is to evaluate the impact of various levels of education on CO2 emissions in China. Moreover, the study also tested the EKC hypothesis for different levels of education and economic development. The analysis employed disaggregate and aggregate data for education that included enrollment at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels and the average year of schooling. For empirical analysis, we employed an error correction model and bounds testing approach to cointegration. The results of the study provided some useful information both in the short and long run. All the proxies of education positively impact CO2 emissions at the initial level both in the short and long run; however, when we take the square of these variables, the effects of education on CO2 emissions become negative. Similarly, the impact of economic growth on CO2 emissions is positive in the short and long run, and the square of economic growth on CO2 emissions is negative, supporting the EKC hypothesis. China should increase investment in human capital that promotes green growth and environmental quality.

Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve in China: A spatial dynamic panel data approach

With rapid economic growth, air pollution is becoming an important issue in China. This paper investigates the relationship between air pollution and economic growth using an augmented green Solow model. Using the prefecture-level data of 284 cities in China during the period from 2004 through 2015, we investigate the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) using spatial dynamic panel data models. Our model suggests an inverted U-shaped EKC, and the peak will come earlier due to the spillover effect of abatement technology. The shape of the EKC is supported by empirical evidence and is robust when we group cities by income level, region, and secondary industry. We also show that the shape of the EKC is sensitive to the model specification of dynamic and spatial features.

Carbon Kuznets curve in China's building operations: Retrospective and prospective trajectories

China has pledged to achieve peak carbon emissions by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by the mid-century, and buildings will be the “last mile” sector in the transition to carbon neutrality. To help buildings hit the carbon peak goal, we investigate the different emission scales of carbon emission changes of residential and commercial building operations across 30 provinces in China through the carbon Kuznets curve (CKC) model. We observe that (1) more than three-quarters of the samples can be fitted by the CKC model. Most CKCs are the inverted U-shaped, residential and commercial buildings occupying 93% and 90% at the total emission scale, respectively. In addition, the remains can be illustrated as N-shaped curves. (2) Under the premise of CKCs existence, approximately half of the provincial residential and commercial buildings peak at different emission scales, except for emission per floor space (residential: 89%; commercial: 81%). Provinces with better economic development have a higher peaking probability. In the total emissions, the peaking probability in residential buildings is 33% and 50% for provinces with economic indicators <20,000 Chinese Yuan and 30,000-40,000 Chinese Yuan, respectively, and 22% and 67% for commercial buildings, respectively. (3) Taking carbon intensity as a case study, decoupling analysis examines the robustness of the CKC estimation. Overall, we close the gap of the CKC estimation in commercial and residential buildings, and the proposed methods can be treated as a tool for other economies to illustrate the retrospective and prospective trajectories of carbon emissions in building operations.

Striving towards environmental sustainability: how natural resources, human capital, financial development, and economic growth interact with ecological footprint in China.

On the economic side, China has attained rapid development; yet, the ecological aspects pose threats to its sustainable development. The nexus between economic growth, natural resources, human capital, and financial development has an important inference for the environment, and therefore, this endeavor examines the influence of said variables on the ecological footprint in China via adopting the novel dynamic simulated ARDL approach by utilizing the data from 1985 to 2018. The outcomes of the analysis confirm that natural resources and financial development have a considerable positive short- and long-run relation with the ecological footprint. Besides, this depicts that natural resources and financial development lead to an upsurge in ecological footprint in China. Furthermore, human capital also upsurges the negative influence on the environment. Economic growth also upsurges the ecological footprint; however, the outcomes also yielded an interesting insight lending credence to the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve in China. So, it is important to offer awareness sessions to the community as well as to human resources working in different sectors regarding the significance of sustainability by giving training related to the reduction of the excessive consumption of scarce resources. Moreover, a watchful deliberation must be given while implementing strategies about sustainability concerning the specified factors and their potential impact on ecological footprints so that the targets of Sustainable Development Goals 7, 8, and 13 could be accomplished by the Chinese economy.

A comparative analysis of environmental quality and Kuznets curve between two newly industrialized economies

PurposeDue to large amounts of coal burning, huge carbon dioxide emission and poor environmental quality, it is important to identify whether environmental Kuznets curve exists in China and India since in downward period of environmental Kuznets curve, economic growth in these countries will largely contribute to world environmental quality. Further, it helps to make a comparative analysis between China and India on how economic growth will contribute to the environmental quality in both upward and downward period of environmental Kuznets curve due to energy consumption.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the data of carbon dioxide emission, per capita GDP and energy consumption from 1972 to 2017 to identify individual and panel-level environmental Kuznets curve of China and India. Before going to regression and causality analysis, unit root and cointegration tests are performed.FindingsThis study finds the existence of environmental Kuznets curve in China and India at both individual and panel level. Further, due to high energy consumption, environmental quality in China will deteriorate at a lower rate in the long run than that of India. Next, the increase in economic growth or per capita GDP in the long run will deteriorate environmental quality at a lower rate in China than that of India. Besides, with the zero level of energy consumption and per capita GDP, the environmental quality of China will be worse than that of India. However, increase in per capita GDP after threshold level will improve environmental quality in India at a higher rate than that of China.Research limitations/implicationsIt helps to formalize the comparative relationship between the two large Asian economies by knowing the influence of economic growth on environmental degradation due to energy consumption. However, this study cannot conclude exactly when China and India can avail the downturn in environmental Kuznets curve.Originality/valueIt firstly establishes a link among energy consumption, economic growth and environmental quality between China and India including comparative pace in both upward and downward period of environmental Kuznets curve.

Analysis of the Influence Mechanism of CO₂ Emissions and Verification of the Environmental Kuznets Curve in China.

Changes in economic development stage and growth type will lead to variations in the CO2 emissions. Traditional empirical analysis of the variations often only considers the impact of influencing factors on CO2 emissions from a single dimension. Under the background of China’s economy transferring from high-speed growth to high-quality development, this paper comprehensively considers the characteristics of the relevant influencing factors under different development stages and growth rates, and further calculates the panel gray incidence degree between CO2 emissions and these influencing factors in eastern, central, and western China. Based on the different development conditions, corresponding benchmarks of the indicators for the three regions (eastern, western, and central China) are accordingly set, highlighting the unity as well as the uniqueness between different regions. Furthermore, this paper verifies the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the three regions. The result shows that all the factors of per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Energy Intensity, Urbanization Level, and Trade Openness have a high correlation with CO2 emissions in the three regions, in which CO2 emissions are all between the two inflection points of the inverted N-shaped model.

Examination of Chinese environmental Kuznets Curve using provincial panel data of industrial waste gas

Considering the new normal of the economy and urbanization, the Environmental Kuznets Curve in China was analyzed and reconsidered, based on the provincial industrial waste gas and economic data from 1986 to 2016. The results show that a long-term cointegrated relationship exists between the industrial exhaust gases and the income variables. The turning point of Environmental Kuznets Curve has not begun, or is still prerequisite to get income levels comparable to those at which the point of some developed countries occurred to reach the growth level in this inverted U-shaped EKC. Currently, the environmental situation in China requires further improvement, and environmental input is far from sufficient to achieve the intended effect on the atmosphere environment. China is facing a significant environmental pressure and an ecological economic transformation is urgent.

Study on the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve in China

Environmental Kuznets Curve is one of the important indicators to measure environmental pollution and economic growth. This paper USES panel data of environment and economy of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China to analyse the relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. The results have showed that the relationship between waste water and economic growth is “inverted U-shape”, and the inflection point is about 27,000 ¥ per capita income, but the relationship between exhaust gas and economic growth is also “inverted U-shape”, and the inflection point is about 88,000 ¥ per capita income. It shows that China’s waste water treatment is early and the technology is mature, but the exhaust gas treatment still needs to be strengthened.

Re-examine environmental Kuznets curve in China: Spatial estimations using environmental quality index

China is facing the challenge of maintaining sustainable economic growth in an environmental friendly manner. Therefore, it is of great necessity and importance to forecast the turning point of China’s environmental pollution. In this field, a frequently used empirical framework is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC); however, the majority of the literature examining the EKC has focused on specific pollutants, which may have led to controversial estimation results because of the different characteristics of various pollutants. Therefore, in this study, a self-assessed environmental quality index (EQI) is constructed across 8 environmental factors that account for important pollutants and environmental emergencies by using the overall entropy method, and this EQI index is used to investigate the existence of EKC in China. Moreover, given that many environmental pollutants, especially air pollutants, may flow across regions, appropriate spatial econometric tools are employed to account for the potential spatial dependence of the environmental quality. Using the panel data of 30 provinces and autonomous regions for the period 2006–2015, the empirical results indicate evidence for an N-shaped relationship between the EQI and income per capita; this suggests that the overall environmental quality in China would first worsen and then gradually improve as the economy continues to grow. In addition, good governance is an important factor to accelerate the occurrence of the turning point of EKC. For policymakers, targeted policies and industrial upgrades would favor relatively underdeveloped regions and improve environmental quality.

CO2 emissions, economic growth, and the environmental Kuznets curve in China: What roles can nuclear energy and renewable energy play?

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate the dynamic causal links among per capita carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, per capita gross domestic product (GDP), per capita fossil fuels consumption, per capita nuclear energy consumption, and per capita renewable energy consumption within the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for the case of China. To do so, a series of econometric techniques allowing for structural break is utilized for the period of 1993–2016. The empirical results confirm the existence of the EKC for CO2 emissions in China. The estimated turning point (TP) of China's EKC for CO2 emissions is calculated as 96,680.47 yuan and is expected to reach its peak by approximately 2028. The empirical results also indicate that, in both the short and long run, nuclear energy and renewable energy play important roles in mitigating CO2 emissions, while fossil fuels consumption is indeed the dominant culprit for promoting CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the mitigation impact of nuclear energy consumption on CO2 emissions is considerably smaller than that of renewable energy consumption, implying that renewable energy will be the main contributor to CO2 emissions mitigation in China. Finally, several important policy implications for mitigating China's CO2 emissions and promoting growth in the nuclear energy and renewable energy industries are provided.

Investigating Environmental Kuznets Curve in China–Aggregation bias and policy implications

Aggregation bias may lead to a wrongly estimated Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), and misguide the policy-makers. This paper aims to test the existence of aggregation bias in the Environmental Kuznets Curve with the sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission. The empirical methods robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity reveals that the estimation of SO2 EKC in China suffers from aggregation bias. The results with the disaggregate data cannot support the EKC estimated at the aggregate level. The finding of aggregation bias has several policy implications. First, the government should not be misled by the false relationship between the pollutant emission and the real GDP per capita at the aggregate level. Second, the local governments should play more important roles in making environmental protection policies since the more disaggregate data can mitigate the aggregation bias. To provide enough incentives to the local government, the Chinese national government should align the interests of the local governments with those of the national government. On the other hand, the findings indicate that China can stick to the policy of encouraging foreign direct investment, openness and financial development since they have not influenced the SO2 emission in China.

Estimating the provincial environmental Kuznets curve in China: a geographically weighted regression approach

This study estimates the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) relationship at the province level in China. We apply empirical methods to test three industrial pollutants—SO2 emission, wastewater discharge, and solid waste production—in 29 Chinese provinces in 1994–2010. We use the geographically weighted regression (GWR) approach, wherein the model can be fitted at each spatial location in the data, weighting all observations by a function of distance from the regression point. Hence, considering spatial heterogeneity, the EKC relationship can be analyzed region-specifically through this approach, rather than describing the average relationship over the entire area examined. We also investigate the spatial stratified heterogeneity to verify and compare risk factors that affect regional pollution with statistical models. This study finds that the GWR model, aimed at considering spatial heterogeneity, outperforms the OLS model; it is more effective at explaining the relationships between environmental performance and economic growth in China. The results indicate a significant variation in the existence of the EKC relationship. Such spatial patterns suggest province-specific policymaking to achieve balanced growth in those provinces.

Evaluating the impact of urban traffic investment on SO2 emissions in China cities

With the acceleration of China's urbanization, the transport sector appears one of the most important sources of SO2 emissions in Chinese cities. Compared to the fast-growing consumption of automobile, the growth rate of urban transportation investment is relative low. This study is designed to evaluate the impact of the urban transportation investment on SO2 emissions, using the data of capital cities of 30 provinces in China from 2002 to 2012. Our empirical results show that the urban transportation investment increases SO2 emissions in the short run since it might cause road blockages which would enhance the emissions of the low-speed traffic. But in the long run the urban transportation investment has a positive impact on reducing SO2 emissions as it could widen the roads and make the traffic system more accessible. Moreover, we also find that there exists a SO2 Kuznets curve in China and environmental regulation can effectively curb SO2 emissions. The robustness tests are conducted to support the empirical results. Policy suggestions are further recommended to help the urban traffic planning to reduce SO2 emissions.

The Impacts of Technical Progress on Sulfur Dioxide Kuznets Curve in China: A Spatial Panel Data Approach

This paper aims to reveal the nexus for sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission and income, as well as the effects of technical progress on SO2 emission in China based on environment Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The spatial panel technique is used in case the coefficient estimates are biased due to the negligence of spatial dependence. With the provincial panel data of China from 2004 to 2014, this is the first research that finds an inverse N-trajectory of the relationship between SO2 emission and economic growth and confirms the beneficial impacts of technical advancement on SO2 emission abatement. The empirical results also suggest that the industrial structure change is an important driving force of the SO2 EKC. In addition, the direct and spillover effects of determinants on sulfur emission are clarified and estimated by a correct approach. Finally, we check the stability of our conclusions on the EKC shape for SO2 and technical progress effects when controlling for different variables and specifications, through which we find the turning points are sensitive to variables selections.

Environmental Kuznets Curve in China: New evidence from dynamic panel analysis

This paper applies a panel of 28 provinces of China from 1996 to 2012 to study the impacts of economic development, energy consumption, trade openness, and urbanization on the carbon dioxide, waste water, and waste solid emissions. By estimating a dynamic panel model with the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator and an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model with alternative panel estimators, respectively, we find that the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is well supported for all three major pollutant emissions in China across different models and estimation methods. Our study also confirms positive effects of energy consumption on various pollutant emissions. In addition, we find some evidence that trade and urbanization may deteriorate environmental quality in the long run, albeit not in the short run. From policy perspective, our estimation results bode well for Chinese government's goal of capping greenhouse emissions by 2030 as outlined in the recent China-US climate accord, while containing energy consumption and harm effects from expanding trade and urbanization remains some environmental challenges that China faces.