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Improving energy efficiency is one of the most effective ways to address environmental constraints and achieve high-quality economic development. The existing literature suggests that technological progress has an important impact on energy efficiency, but ignores the role of different paths of technological progress. Herein, the impact of different technological progress paths on energy efficiency was analyzed using the dynamic panel data model and the threshold model based on the energy efficiency measurement using the Meta-frontier and Nonradial Directional Distance Function model. The findings of this study were as follows: (1) During the study sample period, a fluctuating upward trend was observed in China's energy efficiency, and there were significant differences in energy efficiency in different regions of China. (2) The energy efficiency in China could be significantly improved by domestic innovation and regional technology diffusion. Even though the imported technologies do not play a significant role in promoting energy efficiency and have no positive effect on the improvement of energy efficiency from the perspective of domestic technology absorption or foreign technology absorption. (3) The eastern and central regions of China improve their energy efficiency through domestic innovation. However, none of the technological progress paths in the western and low-energy-efficiency regions have played a positive role in promoting energy efficiency. (4) The effect of promoting domestic innovation and regional technology diffusion on energy efficiency is gradually increasing with human capital improvement, and the restriction of foreign technology import on energy efficiency has obviously decreased. In a nutshell, different paths of technological progress have differential effects on energy efficiency improvements. Based on the above results, this paper makes some targeted policy recommendations on the choice of technological progress paths to improve energy efficiency in different regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting high-quality economic development, boosting high-level ecological environment protection, and integrating deeply digital economy and energy efficiency has become a general trend. This paper, based on 284 prefecture-level Chinese cities from 2008 to 2018, uses the entropy weight method and super-efficient SBM-DEA model to measure the digital economy and energy efficiency (decompose into energy pure technical efficiency and energy scale efficiency), respectively. After the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics, a fixed-effect model is constructed to study the impact of the digital economy on energy efficiency. The research results show that: (1) the development of the digital economy effectively promotes energy efficiency, mainly reflected in the improvement of pure technical efficiency of energy; (2) the development of both the digital economy and the energy efficiency in China has complex spatial and temporal evolutionary characteristics, and there is heterogeneity in the impact of the digital economy on energy efficiency at the temporal and spatial levels; and (3) digital economy effectively improves energy efficiency by reducing unnecessary energy consumption through the R&D innovation effect. The development of the digital economy has far-reaching significance on the optimization and upgrading of the economic system, accelerating the improvement of energy efficiency and achieving green transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency is the key to green development, and the government plays a vital role in energy efficiency. This paper clarifies the mechanism by which the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination Committee affects the energy efficiency of urban agglomeration by promoting market integration. Based on panel data of China's prefecture-level cities from 2004 to 2017, we take the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination Committee as a quasi-natural experiment of government cooperation and use the difference-in-difference method to test whether this organization has enhanced the energy efficiency of urban agglomeration. The results show that the Yangtze River Delta Economic Coordination Committee can significantly improve energy efficiency in urban agglomerations. The mechanism analysis shows that it reduces the energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by enhancing the marketization level, perfecting the relationship between the government and the market, and improving the factor market development. The heterogeneity analysis shows that cities with lower city size, lower level of innovation, and cleaner industrial structures gain more benefits in energy efficiency from government cooperation in urban agglomeration. This paper provides empirical evidence for cities to realize integrated energy conservation through government cooperation and market integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanding the supplies of new energy can not only reduce CO2 emissions, but also alleviate energy shortage. This paper applies the quantile regression to investigate the new energy industry in China. The results show that economic growth exerts the greatest effect on the new energy industry in the lower 10th quantile province. This is because these provinces have the developed economies, demand for a higher ecological environment and new energy resources. Foreign energy dependence has a minimal impact on the new energy industry in the 25th-50th quantile province, due to their minimal oil importation. The contribution of technological progress to the upper 90th quantile province is the lowest, because their R&D capabilities are the weakest. The impact of energy consumption structure decreases in steps from the lower 10th quantile provinces to the upper 90th quantile provinces. The agricultural sector promotes the new energy industry in most provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During Covid-19 pandemic world economy experienced negative growth rate, therefore energy consumption and consequently emission pollution decreased. According to Environmental Kuznets Curve, it is expected that energy consumption and emission pollution increase in response to Covid-19 economic recovery, even higher than its pre-pandemic level. The goal of this paper is to study the environmental risk of Covid-19 economic recovery. We use an Environmentally-Augmented Global Vector Autoregressive Model (E-GVAR) to trace dynamic effects of Covid-19 economic recovery on pollution emission. Using generalized impulse response functions (GIRFs), we investigated the effect of positive economic shocks in real per capita income in China and USA economies on total C O 2 equivalent emission pollution. The results show that positive economic recovery affects emission pollution significantly. China and emerging economies may experience high risk while Europe region is moderately affected by this positive shock. A positive Economic Shock in China decrease pollution emission in USA over time. It can be attributed to substitution effect of Chinese product in global market. Generally, our results demonstrate spillover effect of transition shocks from large economies to the rest of world and highlights the importance of linkages in the world economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has proposed ambitious goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and will pay more attention to the relationship between economic development and carbon emissions. It's significant to assess the current environmental decoupling and prospect the future conditions in China. This article studies the decoupling status and influencing factors in Chinese provinces from 1996 to 2018 through Tapio decoupling index and decomposition model. The results show that most provinces are currently in a weak decoupling state. The growth of per capita GDP and population will affect the process of strong decoupling, while the optimization of energy intensity, energy structure and industrial structure will promote the realization of strong decoupling. Moreover, this paper prospects the decoupling scenarios of Chinese provinces from 2019 to 2035 and finds that all provinces will achieve strong decoupling before 2040, 2035 and 2030 under different carbon emissions scenarios respectively. To achieve the strong decoupling of economic output and carbon emissions as soon as possible, the government must improve energy efficiency, use renewable energy in large quantities, and promote the industrial transformation and upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To figure out at what extent of China's investment in energy technology in recent years has helped economic growth and improved the environment. From the basic theory of environmental regulation's influence on energy consumption efficiency, this study uses the super-efficiency slack base model to measure the green energy efficiency of 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019, and uses the kernel density function to analyze evolution trajectory. Then, the spatial Dubin model is used to test the influence of some important economic variables. The results of value show that although China's green energy efficiency improved significantly from 2010 to 2019, the overall performance was lacking. However, the overall efficiency value was significantly improved during the study period. Moreover, the efficiency value was closely related to the performance of economic development. From the dynamic trajectory perspective, efficiency values of all years show the type of "two peaks".Altough the width between the two peaks did not change noticeably, but the efficiency still had a significantly improved. In addition, according to the results of spatial economic regression analysis, eco-environmental constraints, foreign direct investment, and industrial agglomeration were not conducive to the efficiency value, while industrial structure and manufacturing enterprise scale had positive effects. In addition, the influence effects had obvious spatial phenomena. Therefore, for the Chinese government, enterprises and society, the next step is not only to vigorously exploit energy-saving and emission reduction technologies to improve energy consumption efficiency but also to establish reasonable environmental regulation policies to push enterprises to produce in a cleaner way. Additionally, a reasonable regional development plan should be established to promote the rational distribution and flow of the energy industry across different places. This paper provides a novel perspective for the study of energy input and usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of decline in energy intensity in four Chinese industries—pulp and paper, cement, iron and steel, and aluminum. This paper attempts to answer the following key question: For the purpose of promoting energy efficiency, do prices, technology, enterprise restructuring and other policy-related instruments affect various sectors uniformly so as to justify uniform industrial energy conservation policies, or do different industries respond significantly differently so as to require policies that are tailored to each sector separately? In this paper, we examine this question using data for China's most energy-intensive large and medium-size enterprises over the period 1999-2004. Our results suggest that in all four industries rising energy costs are a significant contributor to the decline in energy intensity over our period of study. China's industrial policies encouraging consolidations and scale economies also seem to have contributed to reductions in energy intensity in these four industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggravation of the greenhouse gas emission-resulted climate change poses a significant challenge to the world. In response to the urgent need for significantly more sustainable societies, this paper develops a protocol for the optimal design of residential balcony based on environmental benefits in the case study of China's hot summer and cold winter area. The study utilized ROI and AY as environmental performance indicators for decision-making scheme investment and EnergyPlus to simulate the A/C energy-saving potential of considered balcony design schemes. The literature and experiment validation results show that EnergyPlus with Shadow Algorithm is reliable for studying the energy consumption of residence with balcony. The added embodied environmental impact of the different design schemes was estimated, and the idea of life cycle assessment was used for quantitative evaluation of the carbon emissions of the balcony. The results show the depth of 1.2 m suits the south/north-facing balcony, and a big window-wall ratio of 0.6 was the most beneficial in the environmental performance of the balcony investment. When the balcony is attached to different rooms, the environmental profitability is influenced by the factors such as occupancy behaviour and balcony environmental investment. The attached room type of residence on a case-by-case basis should be analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change has caused governments worldwide to take actions to improve their energy efficiency. This paper investigates how China's Top-1000 program, a command-and-control type of energy-saving mandate, has affected the operational choices of firms, and in turn, their profitability. We apply the propensity score matching method to find "identical twins" for the participants in the Top- 1000 program, then conduct a difference-in-differences analysis on the matched sample. Our findings suggest that the profitability of the enterprises targeted for energy savings decreased by one-third, mainly due to increased production costs. The targeted enterprises tended to increase their fixed assets per capita, which was associated with improvements in energy efficiency. Furthermore, compared to similar untargeted enterprises, there was a significant slowdown in the production growths of the targeted enterprises, raising concerns about carbon leakage due to increased production by less efficient producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The air pollution situation in the northern part of China has become a threat to the current status of China's energy consumption. This has created pressure to relocate coal plants to the western section of the country. We apply a spatial panel data method to empirically examine the relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration, precipitation and wind speed by using the sample data of 50 cities over 11 months. Based on the empirical parameters, the paper simulates the potential impacts of the proposed coal plants and the coal plants currently under construction for the PM2.5 concentrations across all cities once these coal plants are operational. The results show that the new capacities will increase PM2.5 concentrations in northwest and northeast China, but at acceptable levels and lower than levels in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an extended Solow decomposition framework with a finite mixture model, which is incorporated to account for heterogeneous regimes. The model decomposes green economy into two different components, namely, green total factor productivity and factor endowment. Then, we reestimate the growth sources of green economy and especially the importance of energy consumption in China's provincial industries over 2000-2015. The empirical results suggest that there are three green growth regimes across Chinese provinces for overall economy and different industries. Specifically, some provinces switch regime over time, while the others maintain the same regime. Furthermore, when controlling for regime heterogeneity, the contribution of factor endowment decreases and that of green total factor productivity increases. With respect to energy consumption, traditional methods overestimate its importance in the primary and tertiary industries and underestimate that in the secondary industry. In addition, the reliance of China's overall economy and the secondary and tertiary industries on energy consumption decreases as economy develops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has built the world's largest power infrastructure. Those upgrading power grid facilities not only contribute to providing enough end-used energy for the world's factories, but also offering a basic guarantee for the clean strategy of Building a Beautiful China proposed by the Chinese government. The national grid system supported by extra-high voltage and ultra-high voltage grids as the backbone makes it possible for a non-dispatchable renewable energy source to be connected to the national grid and transmitted to terminal consumers in load centers. The aim of this paper is to test whether China's advanced power grids have played a positive role in promoting power generation of intermittent renewable energy source. A novel nonlinear estimation named panel smoothing transition regression is introduced to capture heterogeneous effects of grid-connecting renewable energy source across regions. The empirical results show that whereas power grid infrastructure generally enhances power generation of renewable energy source and consumption in energy bases and load centers, the effects change across different voltage levels of power grids. The extra-high voltage power grids show strong support for grid-connecting renewable energy source, while the effect of ultra-high voltage power grids is unexpectedly insignificant. The extra-high voltage power grids have not yet become the backbone of the national grid, which is the main reason for the inadequate grid-connected renewable energy source to the ultra-high voltage power grids, indicating the importance of upgrading the power grid infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is one of the most dangerous threats to human beings, and therefore, it is of great importance for the researchers to inform the policy makers of the threats of climate change and global warming. One of the main causes of climate change is the greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2 emissions. In this paper, we try to find a nexus between energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and economic growth in the United States, China, and India, known as three most polluting countries in the world. For this purpose, we applied the wavelet correlation and the partial wavelet coherence approaches during the period 1971–2013. The empirical results for the United States show that the GDP is positively correlated with the CO2 emissions and energy consumption in all frequencies. For China, there is a significant positive relationship between the GDP and CO2 emissions/energy consumption for the short-term horizon. However, for India, although there is a significant positive relationship between the GDP and CO2 emissions, the nexus between the GDP and the energy consumption is not clear. Furthermore, the pollution haven hypothesis was confirmed by the obtained empirical results. Based on our study, we suggest the policy makers in these three countries making supportive decisions for the producers to use modern environment-friendly technologies and renewable energies in their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the carbon emission characteristics, driving factors, and decoupling status of the industrial subsectors is important for developing effective policy measures. This allows for implementing industrial emission reduction that, eventually, decouple carbon emission and economic growth. Such an analysis is especially important for the case of China on its way towards sustainable development and increasing global interrelationships. However, the literature still lacks comprehensive analysis, especially, at the industry level. This study uses the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index and decoupling indicator to analyze how different factors contribute to CO2 emissions in 28 industries in China during 2002–2017. The results reveal that the growth of industrial CO2 emissions has been positive but decreasing. The highest CO2 emission change is observed for production and supply of electric and heat power, processing of petroleum, coking, and nuclear fuel, and smelting and pressing of metals. These sectors also show high carbon intensity levels. The economic output (scale) effect and population effect comprise the two major factors promoting the CO2 emission. The energy intensity effect is the key inhibiting factor of the industrial energy-related CO2 emission in China. The suppressive effects of energy and industrial structure have been continuously increasing. The economic growth and CO2 emission has been gradually decoupling in the case of the 28 sectors analyzed. Manufacture of cloths, leather, fur, feather, and related products as well as production and supply of gas exhibit a relatively stable strong decoupling. Based on the decoupling analysis, this study shows that energy intensity has induced the decoupling, whereas the opposite effect has occurred due to economic growth, and the other factors showed little effect on CO2 emission decoupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) has had a significant impact on rapid economic development and environmental pollution in China. Nonetheless, the underlying mechanism and empirical evidence of FDI impact on carbon emission efficiency have not been systematically explored. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of FDI on carbon emission efficiency via energy intensity, as well as the moderating role of the Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy (LCCP) in the process. We found that: (1) During the study sample period, the average carbon emission efficiency tends to rise, however, there remains a gap between the optimal carbon emission efficiency; (2) FDI is one of the key factors that inhibit the improvement of carbon emission efficiency, with a non-linear relationship between them; (3) FDI indirectly suppresses the improvement of carbon emission efficiency by promoting energy intensity. Nevertheless, the implementation of LCCP has a positive effect on carbon emission efficiency; (4) The implementation of LCCP has improved the negative impact of FDI on carbon emission efficiency, nonetheless, it cannot significantly influence the process that FDI affects carbon emission efficiency through energy intensity. Thus, we propose improvement measures from three aspects, i.e., increasing the introduction of foreign capital, adjusting the energy consumption structure, and expanding the scope of low-carbon cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon neutrality is an important policy in the current global response to climate change and has been widely recognized by various industries. In the process of promoting carbon neutrality, new energy plays a pivotal role. In this study, the definition and connotation of new energy and its role and specific operation in the energy transition of carbon neutrality are firstly explained. Promoting new energy development requires significant green and low-carbon investments. Taking China as an example, this paper analyzes the opportunities brought by the carbon neutral process to the field of green finance and analyzes the main features and development trends of green finance in China at present. Then this paper proposes policy recommendations to strengthen the development of green finance in China in terms of improving the green financial policy system, enhancing the supply capacity of green financial services, and optimizing the supporting environment for green financial development. Finally, this paper analyzes the measures and experiences of the United States in promoting low-carbon development and proposes countermeasures for China's low-carbon development on the basis of the five major relationships that need attention in China's carbon-neutral process. That is, strengthen the top-level design and improve the regulatory policy system; optimize the energy structure and increase the proportion of clean energy; optimize the industrial structure and reduce energy consumption in key industries; build a complete low-carbon technology system and promote low-carbon technology research and development and demonstration applications, and encourage local conditions to explore low-carbon development paths. The development of green finance can contribute to the advancement of new energy technologies, thus contributing to the achievement of carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally as well as in China, cities have contributed to most of economic output and have accordingly given rise to most of CO2 emissions. In particular, given unprecedented urbanization, cities will play an even greater role in shaping energy demand and CO2 emissions. Therefore, cities are the key to meeting its proposed carbon intensity target in 2020 and whatever climate commitments beyond 2020 that China may take. Given the paramount importance of cities, China is practicing low carbon city (LCC) development. Against this background, this paper first summarizes the general situation and main characteristics of China's LCC development. The paper then indentifies eight problems and challenges for China's LCC development including the absence of sound carbon accounting systems, lack of low-carbon specific evaluation system, rare use of market-based instruments, insufficient government-enterprise interactions, excessive budget dependence on land concession, increasing difficulty in further carbon mitigation, inevitable emissions growth due to rising living standards, and coal-dominant energy structure in the foreseeable future. Since these challenges are not applied to one or few cities, but are to all cities across the country, finally, the paper discusses how governments, in particular the central government, should address these problems and challenges. Given that China has faced great difficulty ensuring that local governments act in accordance with centrally-directed policies, the paper in particular discusses ways to incentivize local governments not to focus on economic growth alone and to move away from a heavy reliance on land concession. The paper ends with emphasizing on putting a price on carbon a crucial step for China's endeavor of harnessing the market forces to reduce its energy consumption and carbon emissions and genuinely transiting into a low-carbon economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy rebound effect is a potential threat to energy-saving targets based on energy efficiency improvements. This paper employs a stochastic energy demand frontier model to analyze the energy demand and rebound effect in China's urban residential sector. Using a panel data set of 30 Chinese provincial-level regions over the period 2001-2014, for the first time, we investigate the degrees and determinants of China's urban residential energy demand and energy rebound effect. The results show that residents' income level, energy price, temperature deviation, population scale, household size, and district heating system are significant influencing factors of residential energy consumption. Regarding the energy rebound effect, we find that energy price is negatively correlated with the rebound effect, and an inverted U-shaped relationship between residents' income level and rebound-effect size exists. The magnitude of the rebound effect varies across regions, with an average of 65.4%. The main policy implication generated by this study is that it should be in urgent need of energy pricing reform to mitigate the rebound effect in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of occupants' behaviour on the thermal environment in air-conditioned rooms. Typical occupants' behaviours were determined from survey results in the hot summers and cold winters region of China. The temperature setpoint, intermittent operation and door opening were determined as influencing factors in a theoretical model for maintaining thermal comfort with minimal energy consumption. The concepts of the temperature change index and characteristic temperature were introduced to predict the relationship between the indoor thermal environment and occupants' behaviour. The model was validated with empirical experiments and numerical simulations. The results indicated that continuous opening of doors and windows in air-conditioned rooms would increase the energy consumption that is needed to maintain a desirable indoor thermal environment. The average indoor temperature at 25°C setpoint heating temperature with the door open at 90° was found equal to the average indoor setpoint temperature of 22°C with the door open at 45°. The relative effects of the tested occupants' behaviours were also evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South China’s Guangdong Province, the Chinese largest provincial economy and the global 14th biggest economy, has been facing a huge challenge of achieving economic growth without emission growth. Developing new strategy for making economic growth compatible carbon reduction requires better understanding of the decoupling carbon emission from economic growth. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive decoupling and decomposition analysis of carbon emission from economic output in Guangdong Province from a sector perspective. We firstly calculate carbon emission in six sectors based on the energy consumption of each sector and carbon coefficient of 13 types of fuels during 2000–2014, and then quantify the decoupling status between CO2 emissions and economic growth in those six sectors by using the Tapio decoupling index, finally, investigate the influencing factors of emissions by using the decomposition techniques. The modeling results show that agricultural sector has strong decoupling, industrial, transport and others sectors are weak decoupling; construction and trade sectors are expansive negative decoupling. We also find that energy intensity and economic output are the major factors influencing carbon emission, also the effects of energy structure and emission factor among six sectors are studied. Some policy recommendations finally are put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the total factor productivity and the resource efficiency, this paper proposes a synthesized data envelopment analysis (DEA) model by using the DEA approach and the Malmquist index. Furthermore, this model is applied to a comprehensive empirical study of the resource efficiency evaluation in China from 2013 to 2015. By introducing some desirable and undesirable factors, we calculate and analyze the whole resource efficiency, the input redundancy ratio, and the output inefficiency ratio of China from 2013 to 2015 based on the synthesized DEA model. Then, we analyze the dynamic trends of the resource efficiency in 31 provinces of China during these three years by applying the corresponding Malmquist index. After that, some interesting conclusions are derived, which are useful for the government. At last, some practical suggestions about improving the resource efficiency of these provinces are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops an environment input-output (EIO) model to calculate embedded carbon footprints (ECF) from a consumption perspective, based on which an analysis is conducted on the trends and spatial distribution of urban households' ECF in China. The results demonstrate that energy efficiency improvements might not definitely result in a reduction of China's ECF, which is consistent with the Jevons paradox. Survival-oriented emissions account for over 35% of China's ECF, but the percentage is declining gradually. Although development-oriented emissions only take up 15% of the total ECF, the recent years has witnessed a dramatic increase of the percentage. These findings indicate the broad scope of China's ECF. Furthermore, a significant discrepancy on the spatial distribution of ECF is observed and is attributed to the diversity of economic development stages, consumptive policies, and consumption patterns among regions. Finally, relevant policy implications are derived and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the rapidly rising demand for energy in China is essential to efforts to reduce the country's energy use and environmental damage. In response to rising incomes and changing prices and demographics, household use of various fuels, electricity and gasoline has changed dramatically in China. In this paper, we estimate both income and price elasticities for various energy types using Chinese urban household micro-data collected by National bureau of Statistics, by applying a two-stage budgeting AIDS model. We find that total energy is price and income inelastic for all income groups after accounting for demographic and regional effects. Our estimated electricity price elasticity ranges from -0.49 to -0.57, gas price elasticity ranges from -0.46 to -0.94, and gasoline price elasticity ranges from -0.85 to -0.94. Income elasticity for various energy types range from 0.57 to 0.94. Demand for coal is most price and income elastic among the poor, whereas gasoline demand is elastic for the rich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the operational efficiency of Chinese power sector at the provincial level, this paper studies the convergence of technical efficiency and productivity growth of electricity across 29 Chinese provinces during the period 1996-2008 using several convergence models. Depending on the model being employed, we find evidence of convergence of operational efficiency towards either a national steady state or towards their own steady states, with the latter process occurring more rapidly. In essence, our study provides evidence of negative effects of government intervention. Additionally, we use the nonparametric distribution dynamics approach to analyze intra-distributional dynamics of technical efficiency and productivity. We find some support for productivity convergence while technical efficiency does not converge for provinces with relatively low levels. We discuss policy implementations based on our model results and highlight several aspects for policy making in the power sector reforms currently being undertaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is undeniable that coal is still the main resource for production and consumption in China and will likely remain so in the coming decades. This paper proposes a new method based on rough set theory to effectively evaluate clean coal technology (CCT). Firstly a rough-set information system is built after the filtration of CCT evaluation indexes, and then we discuss the calculations of the weight of every index and evaluation result for each technology. This new method reduces the correlation among different attributes, which makes the results more precise. This data collection approach improves reliability and rationality of evaluation. The results highlight advantages and defects in each technology. This will guide entrepreneurs and scholars to improve Chinese CCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the total heating energy consumption over the entire heating season and its distribution data can help policymakers to adequately understand the current status and development trend of heating energy consumption, as well as to formulate effective policies to improve the indoor comfort and energy performance of residential buildings. This paper aims to explore a method for obtaining the space heating energy consumption demand of dwellings to guide energy conservation and energy supply with heating. A survey questionnaire was carried out to obtain detailed information on the occupant behaviour on space heating in a multi-unit high-rise residential community in Nantong. The statistical results of some factors were obtained from the questionnaire, such as occupants' space heating behaviour, window-opening behaviour, and indoor temperature setting. Then, energy consumption by space heating was simulated and analysed based on the survey data, and the reliability of results was verified by comparing modelled results with measured energy consumption from 1625 households. The results reveal that the heating energy consumption simulation method based on occupant behaviour survey can be used to predict the distribution of the energy consumption over the entire heating season in this region and areas with similar climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting biodiesel industrialization is not only an important measure in addressing the energy crisis and global warming but is also a driver for industrial restructuring and rural development. To promote the development of the biofuel industry, the Chinese central government has set a target that biofuel will account for 15% of transport energy consumption by 2020. The macroeconomic impacts of this policy, however, are unknown. This paper estimates the economic and environmental impacts on Yunnan of meeting this target using a demand-driven input–output model for Jatropha curcas L. biodiesel. The study combines life-cycle analysis and input–output analysis to establish the industrial relationship of the biodiesel sector with other sectors. The results show that meeting the biofuel policy target in 2020 will generate 296,780 thousand job opportunities annually (man-year) and increase household income. Meeting this target will also lower carbon emission by 11.39 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, valued at 2.41 billion Yuan. However, meeting the target will decrease tax revenue by 1.8 billion Yuan and reduce the provincial gross domestic product by 754.95 million Yuan. Thus, the industrialization of J. curcas L. biodiesel can contribute to the development of a green economy and is a positive response to the policies of energy conservation and emission reduction. The promotion of biodiesel production, however, requires a trade-off between economic and environmental targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the country's efforts to achieve green development, China implemented a mandatory energy intensity reduction target in its 11th "Five-Year Plan (FYP)" in 2006, and then began to roll out a series of relevant measures. However, existing studies have paid little attention to the actual effects of China's energy intensity constraint policy (EICP). In this paper, using panel data from China's 36 industrial sub-sectors covering the years from 2001 to 2014, we adopt the difference-in-differences (DID) method to investigate for the first time the EICP's (marginal) effect on total factor energy efficiency growth (TFEEG). We also estimate the superposition effect caused by the introduction of a carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP) on TFEEG, through the difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) strategy. Finally, using counterfactual, re-grouping and quasi-DID analyses, we conduct a series of robustness tests of the empirical results. The results show that the TFEEG in China's industrial sector experienced an overall declining trend between 2001 and 2014. The implementation of the EICP has had a significantly negative effect on the improvement of the TFEEG of sub-sectors with higher levels of energy intensity. After the implementation of the EICP, the TFEEG rate of these sub-sectors declined by 4.31%, compared to the rate of the other sub-sectors. The results of a series of robustness tests indicate that such a negative effect is credible. The marginal effect in the first two years after the implementation of the EICP was significantly negative, while the superposition effect of the introduction of a CICP on industrial TFEEG remained negative. Thus, the Chinese government should reinforce the implementation of energy-saving policies by introducing additional market-oriented auxiliary policies to propel the green development transformation of China's industrial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: China is the largest energy consumer and producer in the world. Energy is crucial for the enduring and healthy development of China. Promoting urbanization has been regarded as a strategic measure for China to release the potential of domestic demand against the background of enduring international financial crisis. Usually, urban areas are more energy intensive than rural ones. Therefore, it's very meaningful to understand the relationship between energy and urbanization. The main aim of the paper is to study the relationship between energy and urban developments based on the analysis of China's energy and urban development, and provide a clear picture of the impacts of urbanization on energy development, which contributes to forming a base for further study of urban and energy relevant policies.Scope: The paper presents a thorough analysis of China's energy development and urbanization. Then it conducts a systematic and in-depth study of the impacts of urbanization on energy development quantitatively and qualitatively. Finally, some helpful recommendations are provided for the coordinated development of China's energy industry and urbanization.Core findings: (1) Urban development will bring about interregional impacts on energy flow pattern. The new pattern is likely to be described as remaining stable in the eastern region, speeding up in the central and gradually increasing in the western. (2) Urban development will promote to form new intraregional energy systems. The city will be the most energy-intensive in the new system. The layout of the urban industrial system will be a "U-shape" in terms of energy intensity. The urban industrial system can be divided into three parts, namely, the core zone including the city itself, suburb zones and exurban zones. The core zone is the most energy intensive among the three. The exurban zones are more intensive than the suburb zones. (3) Urban development will increase energy consumption. In the period of 2015~2020, the incremental energy consumption effected by urban development will be 664 million tce; in the period of 2021~2030, that will be 774 million tce. (4) Urban development will influence energy mix thanks to people's awareness of environmental and eco-system protection, and implementing such technologies as smart grid, UHV transmission and so on. Also, urban development will increase electricity consumption.Conclusions: Urbanization and energy development are two strategically important issues. By 2030, hundreds of millions of people will transfer from village to city. Many new cities and city clusters will emerge, which will give rise to the transfer of industry and influence the development of energy. China's urban development both provides a precious opportunity and constitutes an immense challenge for its energy development. Firstly, the plan for urban development and that for energy development should be coordinated in terms of infrastructure layout, energy mix, energy supply and distribution, etc. Secondly, give full play to smart grid in such aspects as integrating renewables, promoting energy conservation, leading to consumption habits and meeting the demand of divers and multilateral services, accommodating electric vehicles and so on. Thirdly, adhere to such principles as advocating environmental and eco-system protection, developing in a way of being driven by innovation, and taking urban and rural situations into account accordingly. Fourthly, combine the transformation of its energy production and consumption with the development of urbanization, more organically, systematically and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has gained experience with voluntary agreements. In this paper the experiences in China will be analysed and compared to the factors contributing to the success of this model in the Netherlands. Are voluntary agreements an alternative for the Chinese command and control system? We distinguish different types of voluntary agreements and compare those in China and the Netherlands on a number of dimensions. The hypothesis is tested that voluntary agreements are more effective in achieving pollution control than the traditional command and control approach. It is found that indeed most voluntary agreements score good in China as well as in the Netherlands on a number of chosen indicators. Voluntary agreements are effective in achieving ambitious energy saving targets in a flexible and cost-effective way. Voluntary agreements have the function to mobilise support for energy saving, which is not easily mobilised through the traditional command-and-control approaches. There are however some important differences between the functioning of the system in China and in the Netherlands, where a more bottom-up approach is common. The Netherlands has a tradition of stakeholders' involvement and experience over a longer time of monitoring the effectiveness of the project and adjusting them if necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we assess 13 process technologies to improve energy efficiency in the Chlor-Alkali sector of Shandong province in China up to 2025 using a technoeconomic approach. The results show energy efficiency improvement (EEI) potentials of 9% in the caustic soda and 38% in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production process compared to a frozen-efficiency development. The most influential technologies are energy-efficient electrolysis technology in brine electrolysis step and heat recovery technology in Vinyl Chloride Monomer synthesis (VCM) step. The energy savings can be translated into mitigated CO2 emissions of 10 Mt in 2025. The larger part of this potential is found to be cost-effective from a firm's perspective. In conclusion, significant saving potentials are still available. However, to achieve the all potentials, additional energy policies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel. In recent years, its demand in China has been increasing at a rapid pace, but its pricing mechanism is still based on the planned economy system and is not keeping up pace with that of its consumption. Therefore, reforming the existing pricing system is of great significance. This paper first reviews the evolution of the pricing mechanism of natural gas in China, and then examines with model predictions the feasibility of a nationwide implementation of the reform programs currently carried out in Guangdong and Guangxi and its possible impacts. The results show that the reform can: (a) benefit Chinese natural gas producers and importers by increasing their profits, (b) increase the production of natural gas and accelerate the development of the industry, (c) reduce the use of natural gas in the chemical industry and optimize the energy consumption structure in China, (d) change the current energy portfolio in China and achieve the goal of sustainable development, and (e) help Chinese companies enhance their ability of adapting to high prices and promote their international competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The renewable electricity quota standard (RES) policy plays an important role in achieving sustainable and green development targets. Thus, it is essential to measure the sustainability of the electric power sectors in the context of RES. In terms of the energy and environmental efficiency (EEE) measurements, few studies divided energy inputs into renewable and non-renewable energy or explored the restricted problem of minimizing resource summation. To fill these gaps, we propose an improved fix-sum energy input data envelopment analysis (FSIDEA) model based on the adjustment strategy of weighted sum minimization of renewable energy inputs. The assurance region (AR) restriction and renewable energy input sum constraint (IC) are, respectively, imposed on the FSIDEA model to achieve the common equilibrium effective frontier (EEF). Finally, this study assesses the EEE of the electric power sectors in China's 30 main regions based on the common EEF. The result reveals that Beijing and Shanghai can be selected as benchmarks after efficiency comparison. In addition, our proposed model can compressively rank all decision-making units (DMUs) compared with traditional efficiency models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of high energy consumption and pollution from energy-intensive industries, the Chinese government has implemented a series of policies. A comprehensive assessment of these policies is necessary to guide the green transformation and upgrading of the industry, however, little research has been conducted on this issue. This article takes China's economic policy uncertainty (EPU) Index as a comprehensive and continuous policy shock and investigates the impact of EPU on the financial performance of energy-intensive firms. Based on 289 listed energy-intensive companies from 2003 to 2018, we find that EPU negatively affects the financial performance of firms, and the negative effect is robust after replacing the dependent variable and endogenous discussion. Further, the negative impacts are more pronounced for midwestern, non-SOE firms, as well as ferrous metal and chemical product manufacturers. Moreover, our results indicate that the negative impact of EPU on performance is mitigated for firms with high cash holdings and low debt ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European energy policy has not faced up to something about which there is increasingly little doubt: global reduction, or even stabilisation in energy use will not be achieved unless Europe and the other rich OECD countries aim at significantly curbing their energy services (heat, light, motive power, mobility and so on). The policy makers at the centre of the policy discourse on energy sustainability suffer from a form for self-deception which revolves around the equation of 'efficiency' with 'reduction' and 'sustainability', i.e., the untenable contention that technological and market efficiency alone will offset continued growth in energy services to the extent that deep reductions in energy use are possible. Many researchers and environmentalists seem to have, partly for strategic reasons, adapted to this view and thereby supported politicians in the selfdeception. In this paper we use results from India and China, with more than one third of the world population, to show how there is likely to be dramatic increases in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in those countries over the next halfcentury. Much of this increase will be in conjunction with the development of basic services and infrastructure for homes, businesses, transport, health and public services, so that it is neither ethical nor even practical to argue for restrictions in overall energy growth in these and other developing countries. This places the onus for deep reductions in energy use on Europe, North America and the other affluent countries. The paper explores what such a change of focus would mean for policy and research agendas, and why there is friction to moving the policy envelope from 'efficiency' to also include 'sufficiency'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambitious targets of peaking CO2 emissions before 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality before 2060 (Goal 3060) have emerged as the driving force in the development of China's low-carbon energy policy. Adopting a systematic review approach, this article provides a timely analysis of key Chinese renewable energy and energy efficiency policies under Goal 3060 across five sectors: electricity, industry, transportation, buildings, and local governments. In addition, the review identifies challenges to be addressed and offers policy recommendations. There are five main conclusions: (1) expedite the development of market-based and network-based governance systems; (2) pursue the harmonization of policies by avoiding contradiction and fragmentation; (3) develop new policies, especially in the building and transportation sectors; (4) embrace surveillance technologies to improve implementation and compliance; and (5) ensure just transition by implementing policy to reduce the negative socioeconomic impacts on fossil fuels-based communities and workers. This review serves as a useful guide for scholars interested in China's clean and low-carbon energy transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation has been recognized as a global issue due to high energy consumption and economic growth. This situation needs researchers to focus on, thereby, the current article examined the impact of renewable energy production (REP), energy import, renewable energy consumption (REC), gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, and foreign direct investment (FDI) on the carbon dioxide (CO2) emission in China. The study considered secondary data and extracted it from the World Bank database covering the period 1981 to 2018. The current article has examined the stationarity of the constructs using Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests and investigated the association among constructs using the quantile autoregressive distributed lag (QARDL) model. The data revealed that REP, energy import, and REC, had a significant and negative linkage with CO2 emission in China. In contrast, GDP, inflation, and FDI are linked with CO2 emission in a positive manner. The article also guided the policymakers regarding the policy development related to reducing carbon emissions using renewable energy production and consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the urgent need for China to reduce the growth rate of energy consumption (EC), the relationship between financial development (FD), urbanization (UR), and EC is directly related to the effectiveness of China's current ecological civilization construction. This study analyzes the internal relationship between the three from the perspectives of financial scale (FD1), financial structure (FD2), and financial efficiency (FD3) through the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation, impulse response, and variance decomposition of the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model. The following conclusions are derived. First, the results of the PVAR model show that when FD is measured with FD1, FD2, and FD3, each variable has path dependence, and the lag-phase-one term of each variable has a strengthening effect on itself. Second, based on the pulse response diagram, a positive response occurs after FD1 and FD2 give a standardized shock to EC, but a negative response occurs when FD is characterized by FD3. When FD is measured with FD1, a positive response occurs after UR gives a normalized shock to EC. When FD is measured with FD2 and FD3, there is a weak negative response. Third, the results of the variance decomposition show that the changes of FD, UR, and EC rely more on their own inertia. Although the impact of FD and UR on EC has an increasing trend, the impact is small. Therefore, local governments should rationally control the financial scale, optimize the financial structure, improve the financial efficiency, and strengthen the propaganda of energy conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a major energy consumer, however, related empirical research on China's unequal energy consumption is very limited. Therefore, according to the data from 30 provinces and cities, this study aims to establish a simulation model to analyse the Gini coefficient (the Lorenz curve) of China's energy consumption, and identify the main factors affecting the Gini coefficient through dynamic scenario analysis. During the simulation cycle (from 2022 to 2081), the average Gini coefficient of energy consumption fluctuates between 0.30 and 0.41, which indicates the inequality is slightly high. But the maximum value fluctuation ranges from 0.40 to 0.50, which indicates the inequality is high. The author also found that three factors—technological level, government subsidies, and growth rate of energy supply—can significantly affect the Gini coefficient of energy consumption. It is necessary to promote the technological level, increase subsidies for energy production, and promote the growth of total energy supply to significantly reduce inequity in energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the biggest developing country in the world, China is facing more and more pressure to reduce emissions. However, can growth in energy consumption, economic output and environmental protection be achieved simultaneously in China? To solve the problem, this paper presents an analysis of the long-run and causal relationship between energy consumption, economic growth and environmental pollution in China from 1983-2010. The methodology uses is the Johansen cointegration test and Granger causality test based on a multivariate vector error correction model. Empirical results show that there are correlations between energy consumption, economic growth and environmental pollution in the long-term. The results of causality test indicate that economic growth is the cause for both energy consumption and environmental pollution, while energy consumption is the cause of environmental pollution and vice versa. The policy implication would be that energy conservation and pollution reduction policies may be undertaken without impeding economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is known for its large industrial sector and diversified energy mix, which could contribute to environmental pollution, as fossil fuels remain China's main source of energy. With the recent drive by the Chinese government to achieve low carbon emissions and further reduce greenhouse gases, this study adds to the existing literature by combining the quantile-on-quantile (QQ) regression and non-parametric techniques to examine the role of economic complexity, nonrenewables energy and renewable energy consumption on the ecological footprint in China over the period 1985Q1–2019Q4. Overall, results show that renewable energy, non-renewable energy use, economic growth and economic complexity affects ecological footprint positively. In addition, the nonparametric causality outcomes revealed that renewable energy, non-renewable energy use, economic growth and economic complexity can significantly predict variations in ecological footprint at different quantiles. We are of the opinion that policymakers in this region should work on the pro-growth mentality of China, which is majorly fossil fuel-driven. This requires an immediate replacement with more eco-friendly sources and energy-saving technologies for economic activities. Otherwise, fulfilling the SDG 13 goals in China will be challenging. For a sustainable renewable energy investment, China should shift to ancillary and spot markets, where the low energy storage and low marginal cost of renewable energy could facilitate higher reduction in electricity cost and encourage higher trading of electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement production reportedly accounts for the largest global materials flow, thus achieving global environmental sustainability through responsible consumption and production is central to the sustainable development scenario. But even that China, the world's largest carbon emitter and largest cement producer, is under-studied. Thus, the current study employed the nonlinear ARDL and frequency domain causality methods to unearth the contributory or mitigating role of energy sources and economic progress in China's cement carbon emission (CCE) over the period 1971-2020. Overall, the study establishes long-run equilibrium relationship between the study variables of interest Subsequently, the baseline regression suggests that a positive shift in economic growth, energy from fossil fuel and primary energy consumption all increase emissions while a negative shift does not have a significant effect on emissions. Moreover, a positive (negative) shift in renewable energy decreases (increases) emissions in both the short and long-run. The result of the Frequency Domain causality analysis resonates with the results of NARDL regression. As a policy, this study infers energy development and economic-related measures are strategically important in achieving sustainable cement production and consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By adopting the methods of economics and sociology, this paper analyzes the energy situation in rural China and the industrialization of making Straw Densification Briquette fuel in some detail. Straw Densification Briquette fuel has a promising future in China because of offical support and is likely to play an important role in rural energy structure adjustment, energy shortage relief and rural construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building occupants can enjoy a healthy and comfortable indoor environment and use less cooling energy if sufficient natural ventilation is available in their dwellings. Assessing the natural ventilation performance of building designs requires modelling of the external wind environment, the natural ventilation rate and the thermal environment in individual rooms, and reduction in the use of air-conditioning equipment. These are complicated processes. A practical approach for assessing the natural ventilation performance of residential building designs is presented in this paper. The method includes prediction of wind pressures upon window openings in the building façade by computational fluid dynamics simulation, natural ventilation rate prediction using a flow network simulation model, and indoor free-float temperature and air-conditioning energy-use predictions using a building heat transfer and an airconditioner performance simulation programme. Additionally, the method includes a simplified statistical approach to deal with the random variations in the speed and direction of the wind. This method has been applied to assess the natural ventilation performance of a standard public housing block design widely used in Hong Kong, taking into account when the wind wing walls were incorporated into the building façade and when the separation distances among the building blocks were widened by 25% and 50%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of a study of the influence of residential locations on travelling behaviour in the Hangzhou Metropolitan Area in China. Based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, the study shows that the location of a dwelling, relative to the centre structure of Hangzhou Metropolitan Area, can exert a considerable influence on the travelling behaviour of the respondents included in the survey. On average, people living close to downtown Hangzhou used less energy for transport. They travelled less in total and made a greater share of their journeys by bike or on foot. The location of the dwelling relative to the closest second-order and third-order centre can also influence travelling, but not to the same extent as the location of the residence relative to the city centre of Hangzhou. The geographical differences in travelling behaviour exist independently of residential preferences and attitudes to transport and environmental issues and therefore cannot be explained by residential selfselection. Instead, a number of rationales for travel behaviour identified in the qualitative interviews showed important links in the causal mechanisms by which residential location can influence travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the reform of the tax-sharing system in 1994, the regulation of the central government to local governments has relied on the mean of intergovernmental fiscal transfers (IFTs) to a certain extent. However, the existing literature has not yet explored the influence of fiscal decentralization (FD) on energy consumption in the presence of IFTs. Thus, this study empirically examines the influences of FD and IFTs on energy consumption by using panel data for 30 Chinese provinces during the period of 1998–2019. Results indicate that FD and IFTs have positive effects on energy consumption. Moreover, the positive influence of FD on energy consumption is strengthened by the improvement in IFTs. In addition, FD and IFTs affect energy consumption through industrial structure upgrading. In terms of policy implications, this study suggests that China may further reduce energy consumption by appropriately reducing the degree of FD, optimizing the intergovernmental fiscal transfer system, and promoting the upgrading of industrial structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been considered to be a sleeping giant but is now actively playing its role in regional and world politics. There are many reasons behind the shift in China's foreign policy from ignoring multi-lateral diplomacy to owning it, one of which is the economic rise of China due to its increasing energy demands. The "good neighbor policy" was introduced by Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2003, making China endorse interdependence regionally and internationally, instead of competition. This policy of China's turned its surrounding regions into a trading hub. Pakistan has always had a very friendly foreign policy with its neighboring country China. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is proof of the Pak–China friendship in the 21st century. This corridor is not only advantageous for China and Pakistan but will bring stability to the South Asian region as well. This descriptive-analytical study dichotomizes the concept of "win-win cooperation" by applying it to CPEC as a win-win outcome for both China and Pakistan. The study describes that CPEC is a chance for Pakistan to become stronger as a country in the international community and will work as a booster for China in becoming the topmost economy of the world. The study highlights the key objective of CPEC by substantiating that better logistics, developed infrastructure, and improved transportation among countries are vital for economic stability and progress. Further, CPEC can revitalize the economy of Pakistan by enhancing infrastructural and social progress while giving a secure and short route to China as a replacement for the Strait of Malacca, increasing and speeding up the trading and investment activities of China throughout the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, China agreed to slash its carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions/GDP) by 40% to 45% from the 2005 level by 2020. We assess whether China can achieve the target under the business-as-usual scenario by forecasting its emissions from energy consumption. Our preferred model shows that China's carbon intensity is projected to decline by only 33%. The results imply that China needs additional mitigation effort to comply with the Copenhagen commitment. The emission growth is more than triple the emission reductions that the European Union and the United States have committed to in the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial development alongside inadequate planning in the energy sector put demand-side pressure on Pakistan's energy demand. Similarly, the excessive dependency on fossil fuels has an ecological footprint. Moreover, the abuse of energy tariff subsidies and deficits had a detrimental effect on department earnings, limiting the sector's emergence and intensifying its crisis. This research examines the electric demand and supply imbalance in the context of the China–Pakistan economic corridor investments using the system dynamics modeling approach, highlights the renewable resources, and discusses the hurdles in the way of green conversion. Moreover, the study forecasts the production capacity, electric demand, and supply up to 2040. The results show that China–Pakistan economic corridor investments will uplift the production capacity up to 12.9%, whereas the average production will reach 15.8%, variables that were 5% and 4.8% before China–Pakistan economic corridor. As a result, the energy sector will be able to meet the energy demand after 2021. However, the current investment in the renewable industry will not help in achieving policy targets. The study provides targeted implications to overcome potential barriers to the green path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]