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Examining the role of non-economic factors in energy consumption and CO2 emissions in China: policy options for the green economy

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Abstract

China has consumed relatively high energy consumption and large carbon emitters since the 2000s compared to other emerging countries. This study explores the impact of non-economic factors on energy consumption and CO2 emissions in China from 1991 to 2019. By using a linear autoregressive distributed lagged (ARDL) bounds testing approach for a cointegration link between non-economic factors, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions. The result shows that education, law and order, and social globalization have negative impact on energy consumption and CO2 emissions in long run. The results show that population growth exerts positive pressure on energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The impact of non-economic factors in energy consumption and CO2 emissions are also likely to be evident in the future. The findings of this study can be valuable to authorities and policymakers in the terms of installing clean energy and green economy.

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Data availability

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

Notes

  1. Corruption is an assessment within the political system and takes actual or potential corruption into account. ICRG index is prepared annually and ranges from 0 (highest degree of corruption means totally corrupt) to 6 (lowest degree of corruption means not corrupt).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Southwest Petroleum University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

    Lin Jian

  2. School of Public Administration, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China

    Muhammad Tayyab Sohail

  3. School of Economics, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Sana Ullah & Muhammad Tariq Majeed

Authors
  1. Lin Jian
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  2. Muhammad Tayyab Sohail
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  3. Sana Ullah
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  4. Muhammad Tariq Majeed
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Contributions

This idea was given by Lin Jian. Lin Jian and Muhammad Tariq Majeed analyzed the data and wrote the complete paper, while Muhammad Tayyab Sohail and Sana Ullah read and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Lin Jian or Sana Ullah.

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Jian, L., Sohail, M.T., Ullah, S. et al. 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, 67667–67676 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15359-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15359-3

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