Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities

Economic agglomeration ( EA ), a core feature of urbanization in developing countries, presents both opportunities and challenges for achieving carbon reduction targets. We employ the fixed-effects panel models for 270 prefecture-level cities in China, between 2006 and 2019, to examine how EA affect...

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Main Authors: Si Zhang, Jing Zhou, Sher Khan, Marian Suplata
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Environmental Research Communications
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ade36c
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author Si Zhang
Jing Zhou
Sher Khan
Marian Suplata
author_facet Si Zhang
Jing Zhou
Sher Khan
Marian Suplata
author_sort Si Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Economic agglomeration ( EA ), a core feature of urbanization in developing countries, presents both opportunities and challenges for achieving carbon reduction targets. We employ the fixed-effects panel models for 270 prefecture-level cities in China, between 2006 and 2019, to examine how EA affects CO _2 emissions in developing contexts. We find the following results: (1) EA can decrease the overall emissions of Chinese prefecture-level cities and facilitate them to meet their carbon emission reduction targets. (2) Green technology innovation and financial development mediate the emission reduction effects of EA . (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that EA significantly reduces emissions in eastern and central cities but not in western regions. The impact is more pronounced in cities of large and high economic development, and substantially greater in low-carbon pilot cities compared to non-pilot cities. Our findings provide empirical evidence for policymakers in developing countries to concert EA and low-carbon emissions through green innovation and financial development.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
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series Environmental Research Communications
spelling doaj-art-a07dc543ffd34a20b75e81a2bd217d322025-08-20T03:31:19ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Communications2515-76202025-01-017606502410.1088/2515-7620/ade36cDoes economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese citiesSi Zhang0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7910-2779Jing Zhou1Sher Khan2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2497-4400Marian Suplata3Business School, Xiangtan University , Xiangtan, People’s Republic of ChinaBusiness School, Xiangtan University , Xiangtan, People’s Republic of ChinaInstitute of Business and Management Sciences, The University of Agriculture Peshawar , Pakistan; Department of International Management, Faculty of Management, Comenius University Bratislava , Bratislava, SlovakiaDepartment of International Management, Faculty of Management, Comenius University Bratislava , Bratislava, SlovakiaEconomic agglomeration ( EA ), a core feature of urbanization in developing countries, presents both opportunities and challenges for achieving carbon reduction targets. We employ the fixed-effects panel models for 270 prefecture-level cities in China, between 2006 and 2019, to examine how EA affects CO _2 emissions in developing contexts. We find the following results: (1) EA can decrease the overall emissions of Chinese prefecture-level cities and facilitate them to meet their carbon emission reduction targets. (2) Green technology innovation and financial development mediate the emission reduction effects of EA . (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that EA significantly reduces emissions in eastern and central cities but not in western regions. The impact is more pronounced in cities of large and high economic development, and substantially greater in low-carbon pilot cities compared to non-pilot cities. Our findings provide empirical evidence for policymakers in developing countries to concert EA and low-carbon emissions through green innovation and financial development.https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ade36ceconomic agglomerationCO2 emissionsintermediary effectgreen technology innovationfinancial development
spellingShingle Si Zhang
Jing Zhou
Sher Khan
Marian Suplata
Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities
Environmental Research Communications
economic agglomeration
CO2 emissions
intermediary effect
green technology innovation
financial development
title Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities
title_full Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities
title_fullStr Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities
title_full_unstemmed Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities
title_short Does economic agglomeration reduce CO2 emissions? The role of green innovation and financial development in Chinese cities
title_sort does economic agglomeration reduce co2 emissions the role of green innovation and financial development in chinese cities
topic economic agglomeration
CO2 emissions
intermediary effect
green technology innovation
financial development
url https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ade36c
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