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The development of renewable clean energy such as hydropower can not only ensure energy security, but also help achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. This paper uses the annual data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2017, and constructs a dynamic spatial Durbin model and a geographically weighted regression model to empirically test the dynamic impact of hydropower on haze pollution and economic growth at the national and provincial levels. The empirical results show that the promoting effect of hydropower on economic growth in Western China is less than that in Eastern China, which further aggravates the economic development gap between the eastern and western regions. In addition, the suppression effect of hydropower on the haze pollution in the western region is greater than that in the eastern region, where the haze pollution is serious. From the national level, hydropower can promote regional economic growth and inhibit haze pollution, and the spatial spillover effects of these two effects are greater than the local effects, and the long-term impact is greater than the short-term impact. The research conclusions of this paper will help China realize the sustainable development goals of energy saving and emission reduction.

In China there are already multiple national strategies set up for energy transition, GHG mitigation. Energy transition was proposed in 12th Five Year Plan, and again strongly pushed by “Energy Revolution” announced by President Xi Jinping in 2014. In Paris Agreement, there are targets setups for 2100 to be well below 2°C, with ambitious target on 1.5°C. China signed the agreement, and will support the global target. In the meantime, large scale actions were initiated in 2013 by the national action plan on air pollution control for the period from 2013 to 2017. None of these strategies has clear long-term target. In our studies, energy transition will be decided by the long-term target of CO2 emission reduction, air pollutant reduction, and energy security. This paper will present the analysis from IPAC model, by setting up reduction target for CO2 emission under the global 2°C and 1.5°C target. Energy transition, CO2 emission will be given based on these targets. From the results, there will be a significant energy transition by large scale use of renewable energy, nuclear, share of coal will be reduced to less than 20% in 2050 from 66% in 2015.