FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT, TECHNICAL INNOVATION, AND CARBON EMISSIONS: NEW EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

摘要

In this paper, the method specified in the IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories is adopted to estimate the carbon emissions in 30 provincial administrative regions (provinces) of China in 2000-2017. The provincial difference and spatial correlation of carbon emissions were examined in details, and a spatial panel data model was established to empirically analyse how financial development and technical innovation influence carbon emissions. The analysis shows that China faces a huge provincial difference in carbon emissions. The top five carbon emitters are Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, and Henan. Gansu, Ningxia, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hainan came at the bottom in the ranking of carbon emissions. The provincial carbon emissions had significant spatial autocorrelation. Financial development, characterised by financial scale and financial structure, had a negative impact on carbon emissions; financial scale significantly inhibited carbon emissions, while financial structure exerted an insignificant inhibitory effect on carbon emissions. The expenditure on development and experiments (R&D) had an insignificant positive impact on carbon emissions, while the foreign direct investment (FDI) had a significant negative impact on carbon emissions. Furthermore, carbon emissions have a significant negative correlation with human capital, but significant positive correlations with energy consumption structure, environmental regulation, and urbanisation. The research results provide new insights to carbon reduction and sustainable development of China.