The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns
China's rapid economic growth has made it the world's largest carbon emitter, creating urgent environmental challenges that require immediate attention. As urbanization advances, so does the energy demand, with a large proportion of that energy being provided by fossil fuels, which has fur...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Energy Strategy Reviews |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25002238 |
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| author | Muhammad Sohaib Abdul Majeed Jingru Liu Judit Oláh |
| author_facet | Muhammad Sohaib Abdul Majeed Jingru Liu Judit Oláh |
| author_sort | Muhammad Sohaib |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | China's rapid economic growth has made it the world's largest carbon emitter, creating urgent environmental challenges that require immediate attention. As urbanization advances, so does the energy demand, with a large proportion of that energy being provided by fossil fuels, which has further escalated carbon emissions. The resulting increase in carbon emissions poses a serious threat to global climate stability and requires immediate action to mitigate its impact on the environment. The urge to reduce environmental effects has called for solutions, such as a shift to renewable energy. Thus, this study aims to establish the relationship between renewable energy consumption, economic growth, fossil fuel use, urbanization, industrialization, and carbon emissions in China from 1990 to 2022. We explore these variables using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and nonlinear symmetrical estimation methods. These findings suggest that carbon emissions are positively linked to fossil fuel use, economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization, indicating that these determinants play a significant role in environmental degradation. Conversely, renewable energy reduces carbon emissions and contributes to environmental sustainability. It confirms the need to improve renewable energy integration and increase awareness of China's severe environmental concerns, which are exacerbated by its economic and industrial development. This study offers critical insights for Chinese policymakers by analyzing data from 1990 to 2022 to quantify the extent to which the adoption of renewable energy can offset emissions resulting from economic growth, fossil fuel use, urbanization, and industrialization. Our findings provide China-specific evidence to support its emission reduction targets and contribute globally relevant methods for sustainable development planning. The quantified relationships provide a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of policies in transitioning to low-carbon growth. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e508ab2e8e344d7b56c50c494c7be8a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2211-467X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energy Strategy Reviews |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e508ab2e8e344d7b56c50c494c7be8a2025-08-20T03:41:31ZengElsevierEnergy Strategy Reviews2211-467X2025-09-016110186010.1016/j.esr.2025.101860The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patternsMuhammad Sohaib0Abdul Majeed1Jingru Liu2Judit Oláh3School of Business Administration, Xi'an Eurasia University, Xi'an, ChinaSchool of Insurance and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, ChinaBusiness School, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, ChinaFaculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary; John von Neumann University, Doctoral School of Management and Business Administration, 6000 Kecskemét, Hungary; Department of Trade and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic; Corresponding author. Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary.China's rapid economic growth has made it the world's largest carbon emitter, creating urgent environmental challenges that require immediate attention. As urbanization advances, so does the energy demand, with a large proportion of that energy being provided by fossil fuels, which has further escalated carbon emissions. The resulting increase in carbon emissions poses a serious threat to global climate stability and requires immediate action to mitigate its impact on the environment. The urge to reduce environmental effects has called for solutions, such as a shift to renewable energy. Thus, this study aims to establish the relationship between renewable energy consumption, economic growth, fossil fuel use, urbanization, industrialization, and carbon emissions in China from 1990 to 2022. We explore these variables using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) and nonlinear symmetrical estimation methods. These findings suggest that carbon emissions are positively linked to fossil fuel use, economic growth, urbanization, and industrialization, indicating that these determinants play a significant role in environmental degradation. Conversely, renewable energy reduces carbon emissions and contributes to environmental sustainability. It confirms the need to improve renewable energy integration and increase awareness of China's severe environmental concerns, which are exacerbated by its economic and industrial development. This study offers critical insights for Chinese policymakers by analyzing data from 1990 to 2022 to quantify the extent to which the adoption of renewable energy can offset emissions resulting from economic growth, fossil fuel use, urbanization, and industrialization. Our findings provide China-specific evidence to support its emission reduction targets and contribute globally relevant methods for sustainable development planning. The quantified relationships provide a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of policies in transitioning to low-carbon growth.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25002238Renewable energy consumptionFossil fuel consumptionEconomic growthCarbon emissionARDLNARDL |
| spellingShingle | Muhammad Sohaib Abdul Majeed Jingru Liu Judit Oláh The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns Energy Strategy Reviews Renewable energy consumption Fossil fuel consumption Economic growth Carbon emission ARDL NARDL |
| title | The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns |
| title_full | The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns |
| title_fullStr | The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns |
| title_full_unstemmed | The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns |
| title_short | The role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions: Insights from China's energy consumption patterns |
| title_sort | role of renewable energy in mitigating carbon emissions insights from china s energy consumption patterns |
| topic | Renewable energy consumption Fossil fuel consumption Economic growth Carbon emission ARDL NARDL |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X25002238 |
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