Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Education and its impact on renewable energy demand, carbon intensity, and green growth: do digital financial inclusion and environmental policy stringency matter in China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

A Correction to this article was published on 19 November 2022

This article has been updated

Abstract

Various targets need to be accomplished before the dream of sustainable development comes true. Among these targets, increasing renewable energy demand, reducing carbon intensity, and achieving green growth are the most noticeable. Therefore, the present study focuses on capturing digital financial inclusion’s impact on renewable energy demand, carbon intensity, and green growth in the presence of ICT trade and environmental policy stringency in China. To empirically estimate the model, we have applied ARDL covering the time span from 1995 to 2020. The results state that the estimated coefficients attached to education, ATMS, and environmental policy stringency are positively significant in the renewable energy and green growth model and negatively significant in the carbon intensity model. From these results, we confer that education, digital financial inclusion, and environmental policy stringency are good for increasing renewable energy demand, reducing carbon intensity, and achieving green growth in China. In the short run, some of the estimates are negative; hence, we conclude that the results are inconclusive. The results recommend some imperative policy suggestions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Change history

References

  • Andlib Z, Ijaz M, Ullah S (2021) Resident’s perceptions towards the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism: a case study of Nathiagali, District Abbottabad, Pakistan. Int J Econ Environ Geol 12(1):86–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Aslam B, Hu J, Majeed MT, Andlib Z, Ullah S (2021) Asymmetric macroeconomic determinants of CO2 emission in China and policy approaches. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(31):41923–41936

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Assi AF, Isiksal AZ, Tursoy T (2021) Renewable energy consumption, financial development, environmental pollution, and innovations in the ASEAN+ 3 group: evidence from (P-ARDL) model. Renew Energy 165:689–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bahmani-Oskooee M, Usman A, Ullah S (2020) Asymmetric impact of exchange rate volatility on commodity trade between Pakistan and China. Glob Bus Rev 0972150920916287

  • Chen J, Rojniruttikul N, Kun LY, Ullah S (2022) Management of green economic infrastructure and environmental sustainability in one belt and road enitiative economies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(24):36326–36336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chien F, Ajaz T, Andlib Z, Chau KY, Ahmad P, Sharif A (2021) The role of technology innovation, renewable energy and globalization in reducing environmental degradation in Pakistan: a step towards sustainable environment. Renew Energy 177:308–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Churchill SA, Ivanovski K, Munyanyi ME (2021) Income inequality and renewable energy consumption: time-varying non-parametric evidence. J Clean Prod 296:126306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connor R (2015) The United Nations world water development report 2015: water for a sustainable world, vol. 1, UNESCO publishing

  • Dong J, Yin L, Liu X, Hu M, Li X, Liu L (2020) Impact of internet finance on the performance of commercial banks in China. Int Rev Financ Anal 72:101579

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng J, Sun Q, Sohail S (2022) Financial inclusion and its influence on renewable energy consumption-environmental performance: the role of ICTs in China. Environ Sci Poll Res 1–8

  • Ge T, Hao X, Li J (2021) Effects of public participation on environmental governance in China: a spatial Durbin econometric analysis. J Clean Prod 321:129042

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hafeez M, Yang J, Jadoon AK, Zahan I, Salahodjaev R (2022) Exploring the asymmetric determinants of consumption and production-based CO2 emissions in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 1–9

  • Hallegatte S, Heal G, Fay M, Treguer D (2012) From growth to green growth-a framework, National Bureau of Economic Research, No. w17841

  • Hashemizadeh A, Ju Y, Bamakan SMH, Le HP (2021) Renewable energy investment risk assessment in belt and road initiative countries under uncertainty conditions. Energy 214:118923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jian L, Sohail MT, Ullah S, Majeed MT (2021) Examining the role of non-economic factors in energy consumption and CO2 emissions in China: policy options for the green economy. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(47):67667–67676

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Köksal C, Katircioglu S, Katircioglu S (2021) The role of financial efficiency in renewable energy demand: evidence from OECD countries. J Environ Manage 285:112122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lahouel BB, Taleb L, Zaied YB, Managi S (2021) Does ICT change the relationship between total factor productivity and CO2 emissions? Evidence based on a nonlinear model. Energy Econ 101:105406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei W, Ozturk I, Muhammad H, Ullah S (2021) On the asymmetric effects of financial deepening on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption: insights from China. Econ Res-Ekonomska Istraživanja 1–18

  • Li W, Ullah S (2022) Research and development intensity and its influence on renewable energy consumption: evidence from selected Asian economies. Environ Sci Poll Res 1–8

  • Li X, Ozturk I, Majeed MT, Hafeez M, Ullah S (2022) Considering the asymmetric effect of financial deepening on environmental quality in BRICS economies: policy options for the green economy. J Clean Prod 331:129909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Ozturk I, Ullah S, Andlib Z, Hafeez M (2022) Can top-pollutant economies shift some burden through insurance sector development for sustainable development? Econ Anal Policy 74:326–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Shaikh PA, Ullah S (2022c) Exploring the potential role of higher education and ICT in China on green growth. Environ Sci Pollut Res 1–8

  • Liu D, Zhang Y, Hafeez M, Ullah S (2022) Financial inclusion and its influence on economic-environmental performance: demand and supply perspectives. Environ Sci Poll Res 1–10

  • Mazzucato M, Semieniuk G (2018) Financing renewable energy: who is financing what and why it matters. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 127:8–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murshed M, Chadni MH, Ferdaus J (2020) Does ICT trade facilitate renewable energy transition and environmental sustainability? Evidence from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. Energy, Ecol Environ 5(6):470–495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozturk I, Ullah S (2022) Does digital financial inclusion matter for economic growth and environmental sustainability in OBRI economies? An empirical analysis. Resour Conserv Recycl 185:106489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pesaran MH, Shin Y, Smith RJ (2001) Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships. J Appl Economet 16(3):289–326

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pradhan RP, Mallik G, Bagchi TP (2018) Information communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and economic growth: A causality evinced by cross-country panel data. IIMB Management Review 30(1):91–103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahbaz M, Topcu BA, Sarıgül SS, Vo XV (2021) The effect of financial development on renewable energy demand: the case of developing countries. Renew Energy 178:1370–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sohail MT, Majeed MT, Shaikh PA, Andlib Z (2022) Environmental costs of political instability in Pakistan: policy options for clean energy consumption and environment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(17):25184–25193

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsao YC, Thanh VV, Lu JC, Wei HH (2021) A risk-sharing-based resilient renewable energy supply network model under the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustain Prod Consum 25:484–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullah S, Ozturk I, Majeed MT, Ahmad W (2021) Do technological innovations have symmetric or asymmetric effects on environmental quality? Evidence from Pakistan. J Clean Prod 316:128239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNEP (2011) Emissions gap Report 2011. UN Environment Programme

  • Usman A, Ozturk I, Hassan A, Zafar SM, Ullah S (2021) The effect of ICT on energy consumption and economic growth in South Asian economies: an empirical analysis. Telematics Inform 58:101537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Usman A, Ozturk I, Ullah S, Hassan A (2021) Does ICT have symmetric or asymmetric effects on CO2 emissions? Evidence from selected Asian economies. Technol Soc 67:101692

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uzar U (2020) Political economy of renewable energy: does institutional quality make a difference in renewable energy consumption? Renew Energy 155:591–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Le Hoa Pham T, Wang B, Hashemizadeh A, Bui Q, Nawarathna CLK (2022) The simultaneous impact of education and financial development on renewable energy consumption: an investigation of Next-11 countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 1–18

  • Wei X, Ren H, Ullah S, Bozkurt C (2022) Does environmental entrepreneurship play a role in sustainable green development? Evidence from emerging Asian economies. Econ Res-Ekonomska Istraživanja 1–13

  • World Bank (2018) World development indicators 2018. World Bank Publications

  • Xie Y, Zhao Y, Chen Y, Allen C (2022) Green construction supply chain management: integrating governmental intervention and public–private partnerships through ecological modernisation. J Clean Prod 331:129986

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yao M, Di H, Zheng X, Xu X (2018) Impact of payment technology innovations on the traditional financial industry: a focus on China. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 135:199–207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang G, Deng N, Mou H, Zhang ZG, Chen X (2019) The impact of the policy and behavior of public participation on environmental governance performance: empirical analysis based on provincial panel data in China. Energy Policy 129:1347–1354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou C, Wang S, Wang J (2019) Examining the influences of urbanization on carbon dioxide emissions in the Yangtze River Delta, China: Kuznets curve relationship. Sci Total Environ 675:472–482

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou G, Li H, Ozturk I, Ullah S (2022) Shocks in agricultural productivity and CO2 emissions: new environmental challenges for China in the green economy. Econ Res-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 1–17

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Engineering, Qinhuangdao Vocational and Technical College, Qinhuangdao, 066100, Hebei Province, China

    Liang Lu, Qi Chen & Rong Huang

  2. Department of Economics, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Ahmed Usman

Authors
  1. Liang Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qi Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rong Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ahmed Usman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

This idea was given by Liang Lu. Liang Lu, Qi Chen, and Rong Huang analyzed the data and wrote the complete paper. Ahmed Usman read and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ahmed Usman.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

I am free to contact any of the people involved in the research to seek further clarification and information.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interest.

Additional information

Responsible Editor: Nicholas Apergis

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lu, L., Chen, Q., Huang, R. et al. Education and its impact on renewable energy demand, carbon intensity, and green growth: do digital financial inclusion and environmental policy stringency matter in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 12020–12028 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22759-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22759-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation