Natural resources, environment and the sustainable development

Interaction between economy and natural environment is a multi-directional process. Based on the balanced panel data of 261 prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2019, this paper innovatively looks into the diversified channels in the environmental-economic system using Structural Equation Modeling. We show that: Firstly, the development stage of China's cities is far from the turning point of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. Secondly, technology is a two-edged weapon for the environment. And the overall effect is confirmed to be positive. Thirdly, cities abound in natural resources are commonly less developed and highly polluted, confirming the assumption of China's resource curse. Fourthly, non-resource-based cities are more likely to decouple growth from pollution, while resource-based cities witnessed closer interaction between economy and technology. By clarifying the interaction in the ecological civilization system, this paper provides a theoretical basis for China's green development.