What abates carbon emissions in China: Examining the impact of renewable energy and green investment

With a rising trend in global CO2 emissions due to industrialization, the role of renewable energy, technological innovation and green investment in curbing is critical. The main contribution of the current paper is to examine the impact of green investment, renewable energy consumption and technological innovation on CO2 emissions of 30 sample provinces of China from 1995-2019. The results of CS-ARDL approach shows that renewable energy, technological innovation and green investment is important in abating CO2 emissions in China. Also, EKC for provincial data of China is confirmed. However, financial development escalates carbon emissions in China. It is also found that any policy change in green investment, financial development, renewable energy, technological innovation, and natural resource rent has strong implications for environmental quality of China. Therefore, shifting the economic structure to renewable energy is an important strategy to reduce carbon emissions. It is suggested that an adequate level of green investment projects should be initiated. Appropriate regulatory and economic drivers can boost investment businesses with more resources provided for the promotion of technical assistance.