1. Home
  2. Archives
  3. Vol. 16 No. 2 (2021)
  4. Articles

The Effect of Green R&D Activities on China’s SO2 Emissions: Evidence from a Panel Threshold Model

Shuxing Chen


Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China (China)

Ke Liu


Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China (China)

Denglong Ding


Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China (China)

Zeyu Yue


Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China (China)

Zhu Bo


People’s Bank of China, Financial Research Office, Chengdu 610041, China (China)

Yuee Tang

chensx@swufe.edu.cn
Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China (China)


Abstract

Previous studies on the effectiveness of improving sustainable development have acknowledged the importance of domestic research and development (R&D) activities. However, these studies remain general and ambiguous because they assume that all R&D activities are related to energy-saving and sustainable development. The corresponding empirical evidence is scabrous and ambiguous. In this paper, we focus on the effect of green innovation R&D activities on SO2 emission which is an important greenhouse gas affect global climate change and eco-civilization. Considering that there is heterogeneity exists in the innovation activities, the R&D activities are divided into three performers with two purposes. The empirical results based on a Chinese inter-provincial dataset of 2000-2016 suggest that the green innovation R&D activities are crucial for the reduction of the SO2 emission. However, the innovation R&D activities of different purposes and performers show statistically differentiated effects on SO2 emission. The major positive effect of green innovation R&D activities on SO2 emissions reduction is mainly from enterprises and utility-type of R&D activities. A further study based on the panel threshold also indicates that effects of green innovation R&D activities on SO2 emissions are nonlinear, depending on the technology absorptive ability.


Keywords:

green innovation activities, SO2 emissions, technology absorptive ability, sustainable development

CAI H.X, FAN R.G., 2019, Regional Total Factor Energy Efficiency Evaluation of China: The Perspective of Social Welfare, Sustainability,11(15): 4093.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11154093   Google Scholar

DIETZ T., ROSA E.A., 1997, Effects of population and affluence on CO2 emissions, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 94(1):175-179.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.1.175   Google Scholar

HUANG J.B., DU D., HAO Y., 2017, The driving forces of the change in China’s energy intensity: An empirical research using DEA-Malmquist and spatial panel estimations, Econ. Model., 65, 41-50.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2017.04.027   Google Scholar

LI L. B., HU J. L., 2012, Ecological total-factor energy efficiency of regions in China, Energy Policy, 46(2): 216-224.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.03.053   Google Scholar

LI Y., CHIU Y. H., LU L., 2018, Regional energy, CO2, and economic and air quality index performances in China: a meta-frontier approach, Energies, 11(8).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en11082119   Google Scholar

MENSAH C.N., LONG X., DAUDA L. et al., 2019, Technological innovation and green growth in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development economies, Journal of Cleaner Production, 240.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118204   Google Scholar

SHAFIEI S., SALIM R.A., 2014, Non-renewable and renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions in OECD countries: A comparative analysis, Energy Policy, 66: 547-556.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.10.064   Google Scholar

SHUXING Ch., XIANGYANG D., JUNBING H., CHENG Ch., 2019, The Impact of Foreign and Indigenous Innovations on the Energy Intensity of Chinas Industries, Sustainability, 11(4): 1107.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041107   Google Scholar

STEINBERGER J. K., ROBERTS J. T., 2010, From constraint to sufficiency: The decoupling of energy and carbon from human needs, 1975-2005, Ecological Economics, 70(2): 425-433.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2010.09.014   Google Scholar

SHI-CHUN, X., YI-WEN L., YONG-MEI et al., 2019, Regional differences in nonlinear impacts of economic growth, export and fdi on air pollutants in China based on provincial panel data, Journal of Cleaner Production, 228: 455-466.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.04.327   Google Scholar

TENG X., LU L.C., CHIU Y.H., 2019, Energy and emission reduction efficiency of China's industry sector: a non-radial directional distance function analysis, Carbon Management, 10(4): 333-347.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17583004.2019.1605481   Google Scholar

VOIGHT S., DE C. E., SCHYMURA M., VERDOLINI E., 2014, Energy intensity developments in 40 major economies: structural change or technology improvement? Energy Economics, 41: 47-62.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.10.015   Google Scholar

WEN L., LI Z.K., 2019, Driving forces of national and regional CO2 emissions in China combined IPAT-E and PLS-SEM model, Science of the Total Environment, 690: 237-247.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.370   Google Scholar

YORK R., ROSA E. A., DIETZ T., 2003, STIRPAT, IPAT and ImPACT: analytic tools for unpacking the driving forces of environmental impacts, Ecological Economics, 46(3): 351-365.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(03)00188-5   Google Scholar

YU H.Y., 2012, The influential factors of China's regional energy intensity and its spatial linkages: 1988- 2007, Energy Policy, 45: 583-593.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.03.009   Google Scholar

ZHANG N., KONG F., YU Y., 2015, Measuring ecological total-factor energy efficiency incorporating regional heterogeneities in China, Ecological indicators, 51: 65-172.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.07.041   Google Scholar

ZHENG Y.M., QI J.H., CHEN X.L., 2011, The effect of increasing exports on industrial energy intensity in China, Energy Policy, 39: 2688-2698.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2011.02.038   Google Scholar

ZHENG-XIN, WANG DE-JUN Y., HONG-HAO et al., 2019, The influence of market reform on the CO2 emission efficiency of China, Journal of Cleaner Production, 225: 236-247.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.303   Google Scholar

Download


Published
2021-07-01

Cited by
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Chen, S., Liu, K., Ding, D., Yue, Z., Bo, Z., & Tang, Y. (2021). The Effect of Green R&D Activities on China’s SO2 Emissions: Evidence from a Panel Threshold Model. Problemy Ekorozwoju, 16(2), 147–151. https://doi.org/10.35784/pe.2021.2.15

Authors

Shuxing Chen 

Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China China

Authors

Ke Liu 

Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China China

Authors

Denglong Ding 

Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China China

Authors

Zeyu Yue 

Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 611130, China China

Authors

Zhu Bo 

People’s Bank of China, Financial Research Office, Chengdu 610041, China China

Authors

Yuee Tang 
chensx@swufe.edu.cn
Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China China

Statistics

Abstract views: 34
PDF downloads: 13







Facebook Lublin University of Technology

Lublin University of Technology Publishing House

ul. Nadbystrzycka 36C/309D,
20-618 Lublin
tel. +48 81 538-46-59
email ph@pollub.pl

Copyright

Copyright 2019 by Lublin University of Technology
OJS Support and Customization by LIBCOM
Platform & workfow by OJS/PKP
Regulamin Platformy LUT PH
Regulations of the LUT PH e-Platform