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Currently, China is at a critical stage of accelerating the green transformation of its economic development model, with considerable attention being paid to achieving this transformation while maintaining moderate economic growth. This study uses 271 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020 to examine the impact of local government economic growth target constraints on the level of green economic development and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The results show that economic growth targets significantly inhibit the level of urban green development, with this effect being more pronounced in the economically developed eastern regions of China. Hard constraints on economic growth targets have a greater inhibitory effect on green development than soft constraints. The greater the promotion pressure on local officials, the stronger the inhibitory effect of economic growth target constraints on green development. The test of the mediation effect model reveals that economic growth targets can inhibit green development by affecting the degree of regional marketization, leading to mismatches in the capital and labor markets. Moreover, environmental regulations can mitigate the inhibitory effect of economic growth targets on green development levels. The conclusions of this study provide useful insights for local governments to optimize economic development target constraint mechanisms and accelerate high-quality green economic development. [Display omitted] • Economic growth targets significantly inhibit green development levels. • The impact of economic growth targets on green development levels exhibits heterogeneity. • Marketization and resource misallocation play mediating roles. • Environmental regulation plays a moderating role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an exploration of environmental concerns, this groundbreaking research delves into the relationship between GDP per capita, coal rents, forest rents, mineral rents, oil rents, natural gas rents, fossil fuels, renewables, environmental tax and environment-related technologies on CO 2 emissions in 30 highly emitting countries from 1995 to 2021 using instrumental-variables regression Two-Stage least squares (IV-2SLS) regression and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimates. Our results indicate a significant positive relationship between economic growth and CO 2 emissions across all quantiles, showcasing an EKC with diminishing marginal effects. Coal rents exhibit a statistically significant negative relationship with emissions, particularly in higher quantiles, and mineral rents show a negative association with CO 2 emissions in lower and middle quantiles, reinforcing the idea of resource management in emissions reduction. Fossil fuels exert a considerable adverse impact on emissions, with a rising effect in progressive quantiles. Conversely, renewable energy significantly curtails CO 2 emissions, with higher impacts in lower quantiles. Environmental tax also mitigates CO 2 emissions. Environment-related technologies play a pivotal role in emission reduction, particularly in lower and middle quantiles, emphasizing the need for innovative solutions. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, highlighting the importance of tailoring interventions to different emission levels and leveraging diverse strategies for sustainable development. [Display omitted] • Analyzes CO2 drivers in 30 highly emitting countries from 1995 to 2021. • We consider Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to investigate the relationship. • We validated the EKC hypothesis in these countries. • A negative association between mineral rents and CO2 emissions in lower and middle quantiles. • Fossil fuels escalate emissions, intensifying in progressive quantiles. • Renewable energy significantly reduces CO2, particularly in lower quantiles. • Top of form. • Environment-related technologies reduces emissions in lower and middle quantiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the goal of "carbon neutrality", an economic development model that achieves emission reduction goals and ensures stable economic growth is currently being advocated by China. Based on provincial panel data in China from 2005 to 2016, we analyse the impact of economic growth target (EGT) constraints on environmental pollution using a spatial econometric method. The results indicate that EGT constraints significantly exacerbate environmental pollution in local regions and adjacent areas. Local governments are motivated to achieve economic growth goals at the expense of the ecological environment. The positive effects are attributed to a reduction in environmental regulation (ER), industrial structure upgrading and technological innovation and an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI). Moreover, environmental decentralization (ED) plays a positive regulatory role and can weaken the adverse influences of EGT constraints on environmental pollution. Interestingly, the nonlinear impact of EGT constraints on environmental pollution relies on different types of ED. Environmental administration decentralization (EDA) and environmental supervision decentralization (EDS) can reduce the positive effect of EGT constraints on environmental pollution, while an improvement in environmental monitoring decentralization (EDM) can increase the promoting influences of the constraints of economic growth goals on environmental pollution. The above conclusions still hold under a series of robustness tests. Based on the above findings, we suggest that local governments set scientific growth targets, establish scientific assessment indicators for officials, and optimize the ED management institution. [Display omitted] • The environmental pollution index in China is measured. • The influence of economic growth target on environmental pollution is investigated. • Economic growth target has a positive effect on environmental pollution. • Environmental decentralization reduces environmental pollution. • The economic growth targets have threshold effect on environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that heterogeneity in political centralization explains local governance. Specifically, the career incentives and promotion prospects of local officials influence how they spend local resources which in turn impacts local economic growth. We utilize the unique historical case of Edo Japan to explore the effect of institutionalized political relations between central and local governments. We argue that fudai daimyos, or political insiders, who had access to important positions in the central administration expended their local resources to benefit their own careers at a cost to local development. We analyze both macro (domain) and micro (village) level data, and use an instrumental variable approach to causally identify the economic consequences of career incentives and promotion prospects. We find that growth in agricultural output was around 10–16 percentage points lower for fudai domains/villages in the Edo Period, which is a magnitude comparable to the difference in growth rates between China and France in the same period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries, such as China, have achieved unprecedented success in a single Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which usually leads to trade-offs between the three pillars of sustainability, and even destroys sustainability. Quantifying the degrees of coupling among the pillars is essential to support policymakers' systematic actions to minimize trade-offs and maximize co-benefits between the pillars, and simultaneously achieve all SDGs. However, assessing the degrees of coupling among the pillars for the full SDGs is lacking. Here, we evaluate the progress of the pillars towards the SDGs and quantify the degrees of coupling among them at both national and sub-national levels in China from 2000 to 2015. The results indicate that the degrees of coupling among the pillars were almost constant while the degrees of coupling between the pillars and economic growth declined over time. The degrees of coupling between environmental impact and economic growth accounted for 52%–83% of the SDGs' progress. Reducing the degrees of coupling helps achieve simultaneously economic growth and environmental protection. The higher the degrees of coupling, the lower progress. This trend was universal among all provinces (sub-national level) regardless of their development levels. Our study highlights not only the necessity to track the degrees of coupling among the pillars, but also decoupling environmental impact from economic growth to achieve the SDGs. [Display omitted] • Our study quantifies the degrees of coupling (TOC) among the pillars of SDGs in China. • TOC among the pillars explained 52–83% of the progress towards the SDGs. • The higher TOC among the pillars, the lower progress towards the SDGs. • This trend was universal among all provinces regardless of development levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study revisits the nexus between energy consumption and economic growth by considering several energy use types (i.e., total energy, fossil fuel energy, and renewable energy). For this purpose, a dynamic fixed effects (DFE) estimator is applied to the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model built on an extended version of the neoclassical production function. This study examines a global sample of 107 countries during 1996–2014, classified into three subsamples of countries based on income level. Overall, the findings show that, in the short run, the use of total energy and fossil fuel energy significantly and positively contribute to higher income in total and per-capita terms. However, the growth effects of renewable energy consumption appear to vary across subsamples. In the long run, the impacts of energy on economic growth are mostly insignificant, supporting the view that conservative energy policies do not harm economic growth. • This study considers various types of energy use in the energy-growth nexus. • We apply dynamic fixed effects estimator (DFE) to ARDL models. • We examine a global sample of 107 countries during 1996–2014. • In the short run, total energy and fossil fuels contribute to economic growth. • Effects of renewable energy consumption appear to vary across different subsamples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To verify how does the development of technological innovation effectively mitigate carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, this study first investigates the direct impacts and moderating effects of technological innovation, measured by the development of patents on CO 2 emissions by employing a balanced panel dataset for 35 OECD countries covering 1996–2015. Also, to examine the potential heterogeneity and asymmetry, the panel quantile regression approach is utilized. The empirical results indicate that technological innovation directly reduces CO 2 emissions; however, this impact is significantly heterogeneous and asymmetric across quantiles. Furthermore, through analyzing the influencing mechanism, the technological innovation affects the impacts of economic growth and renewable energy through its moderating effects. Moreover, the moderating effects of technological innovation is also heterogenous. Accordingly, the main contribution of this study is that the potential heterogeneity and asymmetry of both the direct impact and moderating effect of technological innovation on CO 2 emissions in OECD countries are systematically analyzed by employing the panel quantile regression approach. • Effects of technological innovation (TI) on CO 2 emission are analyzed for OECD. • Potential heterogeneity and asymmetry within the data are considered. • TI directly reduces CO 2 in a heterogeneous and asymmetrical way. • TI indirectly affects emissions by offsetting positive impact of economic growth. • TI indirectly affects emissions by enhancing negative impact of renewables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]