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Does urban haze pollution inversely drive down the energy intensity? A perspective from environmental regulation

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  • Jian Hou
  • Jinghua Wang
  • Jiancheng Chen
  • Fang He

Abstract

Reducing energy intensity has consistently been advocated by the Chinese government in its effort to achieve sustainable development targets. Extant research suggests that energy consumption is often viewed as the primary cause of poor air quality. This paper investigates whether a certain threshold of environmental regulation causes the relationship to be reversed, that is, whether urban haze pollution could facilitate the reduction of energy intensity. On the basis of the city‐level panel data within the period of 2010–2015 in China, we systematically analyze the determinants of energy intensity and empirically investigate the dynamic threshold effects of environmental regulation on the association between urban haze pollution and energy intensity. The results suggest that serious haze pollution does reduce energy intensity, but it is dependent on environmental regulation. In particular, weak environmental regulation fails to optimize energy usage. With environmental regulation passing a critical threshold, urban haze pollution significantly decreases energy intensity. Therefore, the heterogeneous effect of environmental regulation across different regions should be considered. We find evidence that air pollution could inversely drive down energy intensity under a certain threshold level of environmental regulation. This result provides insights to policy makers and may help them design and implement more efficient urban environmental policies.

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  • Jian Hou & Jinghua Wang & Jiancheng Chen & Fang He, 2020. "Does urban haze pollution inversely drive down the energy intensity? A perspective from environmental regulation," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 343-351, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:28:y:2020:i:1:p:343-351
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2022
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    Cited by:

    1. Xiuqin Zhang & Xudong Shi & Yasir Khan & Majid Khan & Saba Naz & Taimoor Hassan & Chenchen Wu & Tahir Rahman, 2023. "The Impact of Energy Intensity, Energy Productivity and Natural Resource Rents on Carbon Emissions in Morocco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Yin, Zi Hui & Zeng, Wei Ping, 2023. "The effects of industrial intelligence on China's energy intensity: The role of technology absorptive capacity," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    3. Wang, Bin & Yu, Minxiu & Zhu, Yucheng & Bao, Pinjuan, 2021. "Unveiling the driving factors of carbon emissions from industrial resource allocation in China: A spatial econometric perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Bowen Da & Chuanzhe Liu & Nana Liu & Sidun Fan, 2021. "Strategies of Two-Level Green Technology Investments for Coal Supply Chain under Different Dominant Modes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-24, March.
    5. Haibo Sun & Zhonglu Liu & Yingchao Chen, 2020. "Foreign direct investment and manufacturing pollution emissions: A perspective from heterogeneous environmental regulation," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1376-1387, September.
    6. Daryoosh Borzuei & Seyed Farhan Moosavian & Abolfazl Ahmadi, 2022. "Investigating the dependence of energy prices and economic growth rates with emphasis on the development of renewable energy for sustainable development in Iran," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 848-854, October.
    7. Jinling Yan & Junfeng Zhao & Xiaodong Yang & Xufeng Su & Hailing Wang & Qiying Ran & Jianliang Shen, 2021. "Does Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy Alleviate Urban Haze Pollution? Empirical Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-20, October.

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