Abstract
In the case of China, there is a need of green energy system to boost growth and environment. However, the current growth of urbanization is putting high pressure on energy system through financial capital. Hence, it is a need to develop such path through renewable energy consumption, capital development, and urbanization to enhance the performance of development and environment. Therefore, this paper contributes to the literature by adding the asymmetries between renewable energy, urbanization, economic growth, and capital investment by covering the period from 1970 to 2021. For this purpose, we apply the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model to find the nonlinearities between the variables under study. The findings confirm the asymmetric short- and long-term relationships between the variables. In this sense, capitalization shows the short- and long-term asymmetric impacts on renewable energy consumption. In addition, urbanization and economic growth have long-term asymmetric and positive impacts on renewable energy consumption. At last, this paper provides applicable and practical policy implications for China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data will be available on request.
References
Abid N, Wu J, Ahmad F et al (2020) Incorporating environmental pollution and human development in the energy-growth nexus: a novel long run investigation for Pakistan. Public Heal, Int. J. Environ. Res, p 17
Adebayo TS, Awosusi AA, Kirikkaleli D et al (2021) Can CO2 emissions and energy consumption determine the economic performance of South Korea? A time series analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:38969–38984. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13498-1
Adedoyin FF, Nathaniel S, Adeleye N (2021) An investigation into the anthropogenic nexus among consumption of energy, tourism, and economic growth: do economic policy uncertainties matter? Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:2835–2847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10638-x
Ahmad N, Luqman M, Kotsemir M (2022) On the nexus of pandemic, environment, and health. Appl Econ Lett 00:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2022.2138808
Apergis N, Payne JE (2010) A panel study of nuclear energy consumption and economic growth. Energy Econ 32:545–549. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENECO.2009.09.015
Balsalobre-Lorente D, Driha OM, Sinha A (2020) The dynamic effects of globalization process in analysing N-shaped tourism led growth hypothesis. J Hosp Tour Manag 43:42–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.02.005
Baz K, Cheng J, Xu D et al (2021) Asymmetric impact of fossil fuel and renewable energy consumption on economic growth: a nonlinear technique. Energy 226:120357. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120357
Belkhir L, Elmeligi A (2018) Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: trends to 2040 & recommendations. J Clean Prod 177:448–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.239
Boufateh T (2021) The environmental issue facing asymmetric oil price shocks and renewable energy challenges: evidence from Tunisia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:48207–48221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14114-y
Cai T, Dong M, Chen K, Gong T (2022) Methods of participating power spot market bidding and settlement for renewable energy systems. Energy Reports 8:7764–7772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.05.291
Chang C-C (2010) A multivariate causality test of carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in China. Appl Energy 87:3533–3537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.05.004
Chen Y, Chen Z, Guo D et al (2022) Underground space use of urban built-up areas in the central city of Nanjing: insight based on a dynamic population distribution. Undergr Sp 7:748–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.undsp.2021.12.006
Coers R, Sanders M (2013) The energy–GDP nexus; addressing an old question with new methods. Energy Econ 36:708–715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2012.11.015
Danish, Ulucak R, Khan SU-D (2020) Determinants of the ecological footprint: role of renewable energy, natural resources, and urbanization. Sustain Cities Soc 54:101996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101996
Dickey DA, Fuller WA (1979) Distribution of the estimators for autoregressive time series with a unit root. J Am Stat Assoc 74:427. https://doi.org/10.2307/2286348
Dogan E, Seker F (2016) Determinants of CO2 emissions in the European Union: the role of renewable and non-renewable energy. Renew Energy 94:429–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.03.078
Dong K, Sun R, Jiang H, Zeng X (2018) CO2 emissions, economic growth, and the environmental Kuznets curve in China: what roles can nuclear energy and renewable energy play? J Clean Prod 196:51–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.05.271
Godil DI, Sharif A, Agha H, Jermsittiparsert K (2020) The dynamic nonlinear influence of ICT, financial development, and institutional quality on CO2 emission in Pakistan: new insights from QARDL approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:24190–24200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08619-1
Guo Q, Zhong J (2022) The effect of urban innovation performance of smart city construction policies: evaluate by using a multiple period difference-in-differences model. Technol Forecast Soc Change 184:122003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122003
Guo B, Wang Y, Zhang H, et al (2023) Impact of the digital economy on high-quality urban economic development: evidence from Chinese cities. Econ Model 120:106194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2023.106194
Guo B, Wang Y, Zhou H, Hu F (2022) Can environmental tax reform promote carbon abatement of resource-based cities? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-23669-3
He X, Mishra S, Aman A et al (2021) The linkage between clean energy stocks and the fluctuations in oil price and financial stress in the US and Europe? Evidence from QARDL approach. Resour Policy 72:102021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102021
Huang X, Huang S, Shui A (2021) Government spending and intergenerational income mobility: evidence from China. J Econ Behav Organ 191:387–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.09.005
International Energy Agency (2017) World Energy Outlook 2017
Jafri MAH, Liu H, Usman A, Khan QR (2021) Re-evaluating the asymmetric conventional energy and renewable energy consumption-economic growth nexus for Pakistan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:37435–37447. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13131-1
Jiang J, Zhang L, Wen X et al (2022) Risk-based performance of power-to-gas storage technology integrated with energy hub system regarding downside risk constrained approach. Int J Hydrogen Energy 47:39429–39442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.09.115
Ke H, Dai S, Yu H (2022) Effect of green innovation efficiency on ecological footprint in 283 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2018. Environ Dev Sustain 24:2841–2860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-01556-0
Khan N, Baloch MA, Saud S, Fatima T (2018) The effect of ICT on CO2 emissions in emerging economies: does the level of income matters? Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:22850–22860
Komal R, Abbas F (2015) Linking financial development, economic growth and energy consumption in Pakistan. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 44:211–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.12.015
Li Z-Z, Li RYM, Malik MY et al (2021) Determinants of carbon emission in China: how good is green investment? Sustain Prod Consum 27:392–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.11.008
Liu D, Xie Y, Hafeez M, Usman A (2022) The trade-off between economic performance and environmental quality: does financial inclusion matter for emerging Asian economies? Environ Sci Pollut Res 29:29746–29755. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17755-1
Luqman M, Ahmad N, Bakhsh K (2019) Nuclear energy, renewable energy and economic growth in Pakistan: evidence from non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model. Renew Energy 139:1299–1309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.03.008
Luqman M, Soytas U, Peng S, Huang S (2019) Sharing the costs and benefits of climate change mitigation via Shapley value. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:33157–33168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06409-y
Luqman M, Li Y, Khan SUD, Ahmad N (2021) Quantile nexus between human development, energy production, and economic growth: the role of corruption in the case of Pakistan. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:61460–61476. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14744-2
Matousek R, Tzeremes NG (2021) The asymmetric impact of human capital on economic growth. Empir Econ 60:1309–1334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01789-z
Mohammadi H, Ram R (2017) Convergence in energy consumption per capita across the US states, 1970–2013: an exploration through selected parametric and non-parametric methods. Energy Econ 62:404–410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.07.002
Mohmmed A, Li Z, Olushola Arowolo A et al (2019) Driving factors of CO2 emissions and nexus with economic growth, development and human health in the Top Ten emitting countries. Resour Conserv Recycl 148:157–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2019.03.048
Mustapa SI, Bekhet HA (2016) Analysis of CO2 emissions reduction in the Malaysian transportation sector: an optimisation approach. Energy Policy 89:171–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2015.11.016
Nathaniel SP, Yalçiner K, Bekun FV (2021) Assessing the environmental sustainability corridor: Linking natural resources, renewable energy, human capital, and ecological footprint in BRICS. Resour Pol 70:101924
Nejati M, Shah MI (2023) How does ICT trade shape environmental impacts across the north-south regions? Intra-regional and Inter-regional perspective from dynamic CGE model. Technol Forecast Soc Change 186:122168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.122168
Niu S, Jia Y, Wang W et al (2013) Electricity consumption and human development level: a comparative analysis based on panel data for 50 countries. Int J Electr Power Energy Syst 53:338–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijepes.2013.05.024
Nordhaus WD, Boyer J (2000) Warming the world : economic models of global warming. MIT Press
Payne JE, Vizek M, Lee J (2017) Is there convergence in per capita renewable energy consumption across U.S. States? Evidence from LM and RALS-LM unit root tests with breaks. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 70:715–728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.252
Phillips PCB, Perron P (1988) Testing for a unit root in time series regression. Biometrika 75:335. https://doi.org/10.2307/2336182
Qin Z, Liang Y, Yang C et al (2023) Externalities from restrictions: examining the short-run effects of urban corefocused driving restriction policies on air quality. Transp Res Part D Transp Environ 119:103723. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2023.103723
Saidi K, Omri A (2020) The impact of renewable energy on carbon emissions and economic growth in 15 major renewable energy-consuming countries. Environ Res 186:109567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109567
Shafiei S, Salim RA (2014) Non-renewable and renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions in OECD countries: a comparative analysis. Energy Policy 66:547–556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.10.064
Shafik N, Bandyopadhyay S (1992) Economic growth and environmental quality: time-series and cross-country evidence, vol. 904. World Bank Publications
Shahbaz M, Mallick H, Mahalik MK, Sadorsky P (2016) The role of globalization on the recent evolution of energy demand in India: implications for sustainable development. Energy Econ 55:52–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.01.013
Shang Y, Pu Y, Yu Y et al (2023a) Role of the e-exhibition industry in the green growth of businesses and recovery. Econ Chang Restruct 56:2003–2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-023-09502-y
Shang Y, Zhu L, Qian F, Xie Y (2023b) Role of green finance in renewable energy development in the tourism sector. Renew Energy 206:890–896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.02.124
Shin Y, Yu B, Greenwood-Nimmo M (2014) Modelling asymmetric cointegration and dynamic multipliers in a nonlinear ARDL framework. In: Sickles RC, Horrace WC (eds) Festschrift in Honor of Peter Schmidt: Econometric Methods and Applications. Springer, New York, pp 281–314
Si D-K, Li X-L, Huang S (2021) Financial deregulation and operational risks of energy enterprise: the shock of liberalization of bank lending rate in China. Energy Econ 93:105047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.105047
Su CW, Liu F, Stefea P, Umar M (2023) Does technology innovation help to achieve carbon neutrality? Econ Anal Policy 78:1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.01.010
Timilsina GR, Shrestha A (2009) Transport sector CO2 emissions growth in Asia: underlying factors and policy options. Energy Policy 37:4523–4539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.06.009
Udeagha MC, Ngepah N (2021) The asymmetric effect of trade openness on economic growth in South Africa: a nonlinear ARDL approach. Springer, US
Usman M, Balsalobre-Lorente D, Jahanger A, Ahmad P (2022) Pollution concern during globalization mode in financially resource-rich countries: do financial development, natural resources, and renewable energy consumption matter? Renew Energy 183:90–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.10.067
Vasylieva T, Lyulyov O, Bilan Y, Streimikiene D (2019) Sustainable economic development and greenhouse gas emissions: The dynamic impact of renewable energy consumption, GDP, and corruption. Energies 12(17):3289
Wang X, Berman EM, Chen D, Niu X (2019) Strategies to improve environmental networks for pollution control: evidence from eco-compensation programs in China. J Environ Manage 234:387–395. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.12.080
Wei M, Patadia S, Kammen DM (2010) Putting renewables and energy efficiency to work: how many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US? Energy Policy 38:919–931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.10.044
Xia W, Apergis N, Bashir MF et al (2022) Investigating the role of globalization, and energy consumption for environmental externalities: empirical evidence from developed and developing economies. Renew Energy 183:219–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2021.10.084
Xu Y, Umar M, Kirikkaleli D et al (2022) Carbon neutrality target in Turkey: measuring the impact of technological innovation and structural change. Gondwana Res 109:429–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2022.04.015
Funding
This paper is sponsored Chongqing Municipal Education Commission: Study on the mechanism of the role of Chongqing’s digital economy in empowering rural industrial revitalization (No. 23SKGH057) and Chongqing Municipal Education Commission: Research and Practice on the Mode of Higher Vocational Education Serving Rural Revitalization Strategy (No. KJZD-K202106401).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Jun He: methodology, data collection, and conceptualization. Zhiyun Tan: writing—original draft preparation.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Roula Inglesi-Lotz
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 (e.g. a society or other partner) 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.
About this article
Cite this article
He, J., Tan, Z. Trilemma of capital, urbanization, and renewable energy: contextual evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 78367–78375 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27833-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27833-1