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This research analyses the impact of green finance development on the environmental quality of China. It utilises provincial panel data from 2006 to 2021 and takes technological innovation as the intermediary variable. Through the construction of a comprehensive index of green finance, technological innovation and environmental quality, we verify the hypothesis that green finance development does improve environmental quality. Taking innovation as the intermediary variable, this study examines the hypothesis that green finance enhances environmental quality by improving the level of innovation and also illustrates the importance of developing technology‐intensive industries. Heterogeneity analysis shows that different regions or different levels of green financial development have varying effects on environmental improvement. Finally, the findings validate the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) by showing an inverted U‐shape link between green finance and environmental quality. The results herein offer a benchmark for policymakers to further strengthen green finance policy, increase the proportion of green investment and raise the support of green finance for technological innovation, thus improving environmental pollution and promoting sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With sustained economic growth, environmental pollution in China has become increasingly serious and displays certain regional differences. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of economic growth, energy consumption, and environmental pollution in China and understand the dynamic pollution mechanisms for the implementation of regional collaborative governance. Based on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve, this paper uses panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2008 to 2018 and applies a spatial analysis model to study the correlation among economic growth, energy consumption, and the spatial distribution of environmental pollution. A spatial measurement method is adopted to study the spatial effects of economic growth and energy consumption on environmental pollution. The results show that economic growth, the energy structure, and industrial pollution in China are spatially correlated and that there are different agglomeration areas in the spatial distribution. In terms of the temporal dimension, the energy consumption effect and technological pollution effect in China led to increased environmental pollution, and changes in the structure effect indirectly improved the environmental situation. In the spatial dimension, the high‐value clusters of the structural, energy consumption, and technological pollution effects are mainly in the central and western regions of China, and the low‐value clusters are mostly in the eastern and northeastern regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is an essential element for life, playing an important role in economic development, although it is threatened by negative externalities that do not make it available for everyone. The main purpose of this article is to offer insightful empirical evidence of the nexus between economic growth and water usage. In this article we investigate the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis using a country's water footprint as an indicator of water impact. Using linear and nonlinear models we estimate, through the ordinary least square, the relationship between water impact and gross national income (GNI) per capita for 94 Countries. Our study shows an N-shape curve, which does not confirm the EKC hypothesis, both for the relationship between Water Footprint per capita and GNI per capita and Grey Water Footprint per capita and GNI per capita. From this results, a number of recommendations can be provided to strengthen the water resources policies and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At least three perspectives—industrial ecology (IE), ecological modernization theory (EMT), and the "environmental Kuznets curve" (EKC)—emphasize the potential for sustainability via refinements in production systems that dramatically reduce the environmental impacts of economic development. Can improvements in efficiency counterbalance environmental impacts stemming from the scale of production? To address this question we analyze cross-national variation in the ecological footprint (EF) per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). The EF is a widely recognized indicator of human pressure on the environment. The EF of a nation is the amount of land area that would be required to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb the wastes it generates. The most striking finding of our analyses is that there is limited variation across nations in EF per unit of GDP. This indicates limited plasticity in the levels of EF intensity or eco-efficiency among nations, particularly among affluent nations. EF intensity is lowest (ecoefficiency is highest) in affluent nations, but the level of efficiency in these nations does not appear to be of sufficient magnitude to compensate for their large productive capacities. These results suggest that modernization and economic development will be insufficient, in themselves, to bring about the ecological sustainability of societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]