Abstract
This paper explores the nonlinear effect of outward foreign direct investment (ODI) and Export Trade Structure on CO2 emissions in China. A national panel of 30 provinces and two sub-national panels for the time span 2003 to 2016 have been estimated by using SGMM estimator and panel threshold regression model. The results indicate that GDP has a positive and significant impact on carbon emissions and that the scale effect of ODI will increase the CO2 emissions. Additionally, ODI and Export Trade Structure are generally conducive to the reduction of carbon emission intensities, except that the impact of Export Trade Structure is not significant the in northern region. Moreover, GDP, ODI, and Export Trade Structure contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions via the technical effects of energy efficiency, and ODI will help reduce CO2 emissions even as the output of energy-intensive industries grows. Therefore, regions should develop a more effective opening-up strategy based on their industrial distribution characteristics and development stages against the background of trade protectionism affecting the evolution of global value chains, use the spillover effects generated by various channels to effectively mitigate CO2 emissions, and seek sustainable economic growth accompanied by clean technologies and faster development of energy efficiency.
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Abbreviations
- ODI:
-
Outward foreign direct investment
- SGMM:
-
System GMM estimator
- PTRM:
-
Panel threshold regression model
- EKC:
-
Environmental kuznets curve
- FDI:
-
Foreign direct investment
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Acknowledgements
The Science Fund Distinguished Young Scholars of Hunan province, 2018JJ1010 Zhao Liu, The Hunan Provincial Social Science Foundation Project No. 20ZDB006.
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Liu, Z., Wei, LY. Effects of ODI and export trade structure on CO2 emissions in China: nonlinear relationships. Environ Dev Sustain 24, 13630–13656 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02004-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02004-9