Is Technological Innovation Effective for Energy Saving and Carbon Emissions Reduction? Evidence From China

Abstract

Technological innovation is increasingly becoming an important way to develop a lowcarbon economy. Recently, exploring the driving path of low-carbon development has become the hot topic, however, the role of energy consumption in the carbon-reduction effect of technological innovation has been ignored. Based on China's provincial-level panel data from 2005 to 2016, this paper investigates the effect of technological innovation on energy saving and carbon emissions reduction and the role of energy consumption in the influencing process by using linear regression model, mediating effect model and threshold regression model. The results show that technological innovation has effectively promoted energy saving and carbon emissions reduction in China, with different effect coefficients between the three areas of China. Moreover, energy consumption plays a significant partial mediating role in the effect of technological innovation on carbon emissions reduction. Finally, the effect of technological innovation on carbon emissions is limited by energy consumption. Low energy consumption significantly promotes a reduction in carbon emissions through technological innovation. Once energy consumption exceeds a critical level, the promoting effect of technological innovation on carbon emissions reduction will turn into the inhibiting effect. Based on these findings, some policy recommendations are put forward to accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the economy. INDEX TERMS Technological innovation, energy saving, carbon emissions reduction, threshold regression model, China.

The Impact of Technological Innovation on Energy Consumption in OECD Economies: the role of Outward Foreign Direct Investment and International Trade Openness

“…Hence, Liu et al (2022) paper put it succinctly, "a country can not only realize technological progress through independent innovation, but also through technology spillover of foreign trade and global investment". Considering the global rapid economic growth and development with the expected increase in energy demand, numerous studies have sought to examine the relationship between technological innovation and energy demand (Liu et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2021;Li et al, 2021;Zeraibi et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2020;Murad et al, 2019;Grushevenko et al, 2018;Dudin et al, 2017;Zhang and Lu, 2015;Chou, 2015). But to our knowledge, most of these studies examine the direct impact of technological innovation on energy consumption, and the analysis are often in country-specific framework (Li and Solaymani, 2021;Zhang et al, 2020;Grushevenko et al, 2018;Chou et al, 2015).…”

“…Considering the global rapid economic growth and development with the expected increase in energy demand, numerous studies have sought to examine the relationship between technological innovation and energy demand (Liu et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2021;Li et al, 2021;Zeraibi et al, 2020;Zhang et al, 2020;Murad et al, 2019;Grushevenko et al, 2018;Dudin et al, 2017;Zhang and Lu, 2015;Chou, 2015). But to our knowledge, most of these studies examine the direct impact of technological innovation on energy consumption, and the analysis are often in country-specific framework (Li and Solaymani, 2021;Zhang et al, 2020;Grushevenko et al, 2018;Chou et al, 2015). Nevertheless, few studies have examined how and whether other economic determinants drive the impact of technological innovation on energy consumption (Uddin et al, 2022 -financial development;Lin and Chen, 2020 -non-ferrous metal).…”

Spatial Effect Research on the Impact of Technological Innovation on Carbon Dioxide Emission Intensity

“…Ding et al further considered the spatial distribution characteristics of carbon emissions, studied the spillover effect of carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the driving path of technological innovation and found that cross-regional technological innovation in energy conservation and emission reduction can reduce carbon dioxide emissions and promote regional green development transformation [10]. Zhang et al used a linear regression model and mediating effects to verify the emission reduction effect of technological innovation and found that technological innovation effectively reduced carbon emissions in Chinese provinces, but energy consumption affected the emission reduction effect of technological innovation to some extent [11]. Cheng et al further considered the heterogeneity between regions in China and used quantile regression to synthesize the potential heterogeneous effects between energy technology innovation and carbon emission intensity in different regions of China [12].…”

Has ICT Contributed to Increased Carbon Productivity in Industry?

“…As the world's second-largest economy, China has received widespread attention for its environmental pollution, especially its carbon emissions [1]. China consumed 4.64 billion tons of standard coal in 2018, an increase of 1.434 billion tons compared to a decade ago, with total carbon emissions of about 10 billion tons, more than the combined carbon emissions of the United States and the European Union, making it the world's largest energy consumer and carbon dioxide emitter [2].…”