Effect of information and communication technology on energy consumption in China

Widespread controversy and a lack of empirical research exist with regard to the relationship between information communication technology (ICT) and energy consumption, especially in developing countries. This paper adopts a partial least square (PLS) method to explore the impact of ICT on energy consumption in China. Its main conclusions indicate that the impact can be represented by a U-shaped curve and the turning-point for ICT capital service is 10.93 units at 1990 constant prices. The negative effect of ICT was dominant until 2014. Moreover, the ARDL-ECM results also reveal a negative association between ICT and energy consumption in the short run. In addition, the influence of population, income, industrialization level, service sector development, energy price, energy consumption structure and non-ICT capital service on energy consumption is examined. Finally, policy recommendations are given.