Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC

Financial inclusion (FI) and technological innovation (TI) are pivotal in advancing SDG 13 (Climate Action) by enabling access to sustainable solutions and promoting low-carbon technologies. FI allows marginalized communities and businesses to invest in renewable energy (RE) and energy-efficient tec...

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Main Authors: Wei Sun, Qiang Li, Ijaz Uddin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Environmental Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1578559/full
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author Wei Sun
Qiang Li
Ijaz Uddin
author_facet Wei Sun
Qiang Li
Ijaz Uddin
author_sort Wei Sun
collection DOAJ
description Financial inclusion (FI) and technological innovation (TI) are pivotal in advancing SDG 13 (Climate Action) by enabling access to sustainable solutions and promoting low-carbon technologies. FI allows marginalized communities and businesses to invest in renewable energy (RE) and energy-efficient technologies, while TI drives the development of clean energy solutions and CO2 emissions (CO2E) reducing innovations. Together, they empower societies to take significant action against climate change, fostering a global transition to a low-carbon economy and helping achieve the targets of SDG 13. Previous studies have focused exclusively on the impact of either FI or TI on CO2E in China under the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). To address this gap, the current study examines the combined effects of FI and TI on CO2E within the EKC framework for the Chinese economy. This study utilizes the Autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL), fully Modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), and Dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) methods by using the time series quarterly data from 2006Q1 to 2022Q4. The ARDL long-run and short-run results confirm that there is an inverted N-shaped EKC between GDP and CO2E. While FI, TI, and RE have negative effects on CO2E. This study has several policy recommendations for policymakers to promote environmental sustainability in China.
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spelling doaj-art-583d77153e33435e9348bc65c346ec752025-08-20T02:26:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-05-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.15785591578559Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKCWei Sun0Qiang Li1Ijaz Uddin2Department of Business Administration, Shandong College of Economics and Business, Weifang, ChinaSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, North China Electric Power University, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Economics, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PakistanFinancial inclusion (FI) and technological innovation (TI) are pivotal in advancing SDG 13 (Climate Action) by enabling access to sustainable solutions and promoting low-carbon technologies. FI allows marginalized communities and businesses to invest in renewable energy (RE) and energy-efficient technologies, while TI drives the development of clean energy solutions and CO2 emissions (CO2E) reducing innovations. Together, they empower societies to take significant action against climate change, fostering a global transition to a low-carbon economy and helping achieve the targets of SDG 13. Previous studies have focused exclusively on the impact of either FI or TI on CO2E in China under the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). To address this gap, the current study examines the combined effects of FI and TI on CO2E within the EKC framework for the Chinese economy. This study utilizes the Autoregressive Distributed lag (ARDL), fully Modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), and Dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) methods by using the time series quarterly data from 2006Q1 to 2022Q4. The ARDL long-run and short-run results confirm that there is an inverted N-shaped EKC between GDP and CO2E. While FI, TI, and RE have negative effects on CO2E. This study has several policy recommendations for policymakers to promote environmental sustainability in China.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1578559/fullfinancial inclusiontechnological innovationCo2eN-shaped EKCChina
spellingShingle Wei Sun
Qiang Li
Ijaz Uddin
Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC
Frontiers in Environmental Science
financial inclusion
technological innovation
Co2e
N-shaped EKC
China
title Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC
title_full Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC
title_fullStr Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC
title_full_unstemmed Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC
title_short Financial inclusion, environmental technology, and sustainable environment in China: evidence from an N-shaped EKC
title_sort financial inclusion environmental technology and sustainable environment in china evidence from an n shaped ekc
topic financial inclusion
technological innovation
Co2e
N-shaped EKC
China
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1578559/full
work_keys_str_mv AT weisun financialinclusionenvironmentaltechnologyandsustainableenvironmentinchinaevidencefromannshapedekc
AT qiangli financialinclusionenvironmentaltechnologyandsustainableenvironmentinchinaevidencefromannshapedekc
AT ijazuddin financialinclusionenvironmentaltechnologyandsustainableenvironmentinchinaevidencefromannshapedekc