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Effect of income and energy efficiency on natural capital demand

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Abstract

This study explores the driving forces of natural capital demand to help solve the new problems faced by China’s regional sustainable development and formulate relevant policies on resource utilization, ecological compensation, and energy structural adjustment. We find a significant and inverted U-shaped relationship between income and natural capital demand. Both economic development and environmental protection can only be improved beyond the inflection point. Energy efficiency is also closely related to natural capital demand, and its continuous improvement can slow down the rise in natural capital demand. This research provides important implications for the spread and allocation of natural capital regionally. It recommends the national allocation of natural capital, formulation of differentiated environmental policies, and improvement in energy efficiency by improving scale, technology, and structure.

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Availability of data and materials

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

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 71471001, 41771568, 71533004, 71503001, and 71601170), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant no. 2016YFA0602500 and 16YJC630123), and the Qingdao Social Science Planning Project (grant no. QDSKL2001002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Shuhong Wang, Suisui Chen & Hongyan Zhang

  2. Institute of Marine Economics and Management, Shandong University of Economics and Finance, Jinan, 250220, China

    Shuhong Wang

Authors
  1. Shuhong Wang
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  2. Suisui Chen
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  3. Hongyan Zhang
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Contributions

Shuhong Wang wrote the introduction and theory and hypothesis sections. Suisui Chen provided the empirical results, and Hongyan Zhang drew the conclusions and submitted the article.

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Correspondence to Hongyan Zhang.

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Ethical approval was obtained from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Wang, S., Chen, S. & Zhang, H. Effect of income and energy efficiency on natural capital demand. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 45402–45413 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13971-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13971-x

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