IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v146y2025ics0140988325003093.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is energy system resilience improved in the energy transition? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Xiaomeng
  • Zhao, Jun
  • Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad

Abstract

Improving energy resilience, as a crucial strategy to resist the risk associated with energy systems in the context of increasing uncertainty, is a meaningful research direction whether it can be realized during the energy transition phase. This study empirically assesses the correlation between energy transition and energy resilience. It also explores their heterogeneity and the potential impact mechanisms using balanced panel data for 30 provinces in 17 years in China. The results are as follows: (i) Energy transition can enhance the resilience of the energy system; (ii) there is regional heterogeneity in this positive boosting effect, and the differences are due to the different types of renewable energy sources; (iii) green technology innovation and green finance are effective mediators between energy transition and energy resilience. Some effective and practical policy suggestions are proposed, and policymakers should uphold the principle of adapting to local conditions and a systematic regional differentiation policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Xiaomeng & Zhao, Jun & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2025. "Is energy system resilience improved in the energy transition? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:146:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325003093
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108485
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988325003093
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2025.108485?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sumarno, Theresia B. & Yusgiantoro, Inka B. & Fitriyanti, Vivi & Khusna, Vivid A., 2024. "Challenges in increasing Women's participation in the energy transition in ASEAN and G7 countries: A qualitative approach based on the three tenets of justice," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    2. Li, Xue & Du, Xiaoxue & Jiang, Tao & Zhang, Rufeng & Chen, Houhe, 2022. "Coordinating multi-energy to improve urban integrated energy system resilience against extreme weather events," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    3. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Sun, Xianming, 2023. "The peer effect of digital transformation and corporate environmental performance: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    4. Khan, Jibran & Arsalan, Mudassar H., 2016. "Solar power technologies for sustainable electricity generation – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 414-425.
    5. Cheng Zhang & Ziwei Zhao & Qunwei Wang, 2022. "Effect of Western Development Strategy on carbon productivity and its influencing mechanisms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 4963-5002, April.
    6. Maurice J. G. Bun & Frank Windmeijer, 2010. "The weak instrument problem of the system GMM estimator in dynamic panel data models," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 13(1), pages 95-126, February.
    7. Hainsch, Karlo & Löffler, Konstantin & Burandt, Thorsten & Auer, Hans & Crespo del Granado, Pedro & Pisciella, Paolo & Zwickl-Bernhard, Sebastian, 2022. "Energy transition scenarios: What policies, societal attitudes, and technology developments will realize the EU Green Deal?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    8. Abbas, Jawad & Wang, Lisu & Ben Belgacem, Samira & Pawar, Puja Sunil & Najam, Hina & Abbas, Jaffar, 2023. "Investment in renewable energy and electricity output: Role of green finance, environmental tax, and geopolitical risk: Empirical evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    9. Fang, Zhen, 2023. "Assessing the impact of renewable energy investment, green technology innovation, and industrialization on sustainable development: A case study of China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 772-782.
    10. Dong, Kangyin & Jiang, Qingzhe & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Zhao, Jun, 2021. "Does low-carbon energy transition mitigate energy poverty? The case of natural gas for China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Nepal, Rabindra & Zhao, Xiaomeng & Liu, Yang & Dong, Kangyin, 2024. "Can green finance strengthen energy resilience? The case of China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    12. Ren, Xiaohang & Yang, Wanping & Jin, Yi, 2024. "Geopolitical risk and renewable energy consumption: Evidence from a spatial convergence perspective," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    13. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Chang-song & He, Zhiwen & Xing, Wen-wu & Wang, Keying, 2023. "How does green finance affect energy efficiency? The role of green technology innovation and energy structure," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    14. Zhao, Jun & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2024. "How does energy poverty eradication affect global carbon neutrality?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    15. Wang, Zongrun & Cao, Xuxin & Ren, Xiaohang & Gozgor, Giray, 2024. "Digital finance and the energy transition: Evidence from Chinese prefecture-level cities," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    16. Hong, Jong Ho & Kim, Jitae & Son, Wonik & Shin, Heeyoung & Kim, Nahyun & Lee, Woong Ki & Kim, Jintae, 2019. "Long-term energy strategy scenarios for South Korea: Transition to a sustainable energy system," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 425-437.
    17. Zhou, Qianling & Li, Tao & Gong, Liutang, 2022. "The effect of tax incentives on energy intensity: Evidence from China's VAT reform," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    18. Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Appiah, Michael & Taden, John & Amoasi, Richard & Gyamfi, Bright Akwasi, 2023. "Transitioning to clean energy: Assessing the impact of renewable energy, bio-capacity and access to clean fuel on carbon emissions in OECD economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    19. Xiong, Yuyu & Dai, Li, 2023. "Does green finance investment impact on sustainable development: Role of technological innovation and renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 342-349.
    20. Khan, Khalid & Su, Chi Wei & Rehman, Ashfaq U. & Ullah, Rahman, 2022. "Is technological innovation a driver of renewable energy?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    21. Suki, Norazah Mohd & Suki, Norbayah Mohd & Sharif, Arshian & Afshan, Sahar & Jermsittiparsert, Kittisak, 2022. "The role of technology innovation and renewable energy in reducing environmental degradation in Malaysia: A step towards sustainable environment," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 245-253.
    22. Carfora, Alfonso & Pansini, Rosaria Vega & Scandurra, Giuseppe, 2022. "Energy dependence, renewable energy generation and import demand: Are EU countries resilient?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1262-1274.
    23. Wintoki, M. Babajide & Linck, James S. & Netter, Jeffry M., 2012. "Endogeneity and the dynamics of internal corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(3), pages 581-606.
    24. Maliszewska-Nienartowicz, Justyna & Stefański, Oskar, 2024. "Decentralisation versus centralisation in Swedish energy policy: the main challenges and drivers for the energy transition at the regional and local levels," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    25. Chishti, Muhammad Zubair & Sinha, Avik & Zaman, Umer & Shahzad, Umer, 2023. "Exploring the dynamic connectedness among energy transition and its drivers: Understanding the moderating role of global geopolitical risk," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    26. Zhang, Juntao & Cheng, Chuntian & Yu, Shen & Shen, Jianjian & Wu, Xinyu & Su, Huaying, 2022. "Preliminary feasibility analysis for remaking the function of cascade hydropower stations to enhance hydropower flexibility: A case study in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    27. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Wang, Jianda & Dong, Kangyin & Zhao, Jun, 2022. "The impact of digital economy on energy transition across the globe: The mediating role of government governance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    28. Xu Tao & Biao Shi & Jun Zhou, 2025. "How Does the Level of Rule of Law Affect Foreign Direct Investment in Renewable Energy Power Projects?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(5), pages 1376-1386, April.
    29. Irfan, Muhammad & Rehman, Mubeen Abdur & Razzaq, Asif & Hao, Yu, 2023. "What derives renewable energy transition in G-7 and E-7 countries? The role of financial development and mineral markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    30. Jin, Yi & Liu, Sinuo & Sun, Yongping & Fang, Jie, 2024. "Energy transition and housing market bubbles: Evidence from prefecture cities in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    31. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Fang, Yuzhu & Quan, Shiyun & Li, Xinghao, 2024. "Leveraging the power of artificial intelligence toward the energy transition: The key role of the digital economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    32. Zhao, Chuan & Guo, Qidong & Jia, Rongwen & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Kun, 2023. "How does clean energy transition promote original design manufacturers? A three-party evolutionary game analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    33. Lee, Yujin & Liao, Chuan, 2024. "Upholding household agency in climate mitigation and socio-technical energy transition in Ethiopia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    34. De Rosa, Mattia & Gainsford, Kenneth & Pallonetto, Fabiano & Finn, Donal P., 2022. "Diversification, concentration and renewability of the energy supply in the European Union," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    35. Sirin, Selahattin Murat & Yilmaz, Berna N., 2024. "Energy transition and non-energy firms’ financial performance: Do markets value capability-based energy transition strategies?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    36. Tomasz Ingram & Monika Wieczorek-Kosmala & Karel Hlaváček, 2023. "Organizational Resilience as a Response to the Energy Crisis: Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-35, January.
    37. Guo, Wen & Yang, Bo & Ji, Jiong & Liu, Xiaorui, 2023. "Green finance development drives renewable energy development: Mechanism analysis and empirical research," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    38. Huang, Shi-Zheng, 2022. "The effect of natural resources and economic factors on energy transition: New evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    39. Gatto, Andrea & Drago, Carlo & Panarello, Demetrio & Aldieri, Luigi, 2023. "Energy transition in China: Assessing progress in sustainable development and resilience directions," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    40. Zhen, Zhiyong & Lu, Bingquan, 2024. "The impact of green finance on corporate carbon disclosure: Financial regulation as a moderator," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nepal, Rabindra & Zhao, Xiaomeng & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Jianda & Sharif, Arshian, 2025. "Can artificial intelligence technology innovation boost energy resilience? The role of green finance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    2. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, Tianhui, 2024. "The impact of renewable energy policies on the energy transition -– An empirical analysis of Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    3. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Zou, Jinyang & Chen, Pei-Fen, 2025. "The impact of artificial intelligence on the energy consumption of corporations: The role of human capital," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Luo, Heng & Sun, Ying & Tao, Xiaosha & Tan, Wenwu & Kamarudin, Fakarudin, 2024. "Effects of global value chains on energy efficiency in G20 countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    5. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Li, Jiangnan & Wang, Fuhao, 2024. "The role of green finance in the construction of new energy system: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    6. Liu, Yang & Dong, Kangyin & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Dong, Xiucheng, 2024. "How do minerals affect the global energy transition? Metallic versus non-metallic mineral," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Hwang, Young Kyu & Sánchez Díez, Ángeles, 2024. "Renewable energy transition and green growth nexus in Latin America," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    8. Gao, Lan & Wang, Jing, 2025. "Can artificial intelligence reduce energy vulnerability? Evidence from an international perspective," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    9. Borojo, Dinkneh Gebre & Yushi, Jiang & Gong, Xueting & Zhang, Hongyu & Miao, Miao, 2024. "The heterogeneous impacts of climate finance on energy efficiency and renewable energy production in developing countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    10. Li, Xin & Li, Shiyuan & Cao, Jifeng & Spulbar, Andrei Cristian, 2025. "Does artificial intelligence improve energy efficiency? Evidence from provincial data in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    11. He, Zhi-Wen & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Sharma, Susan Sunila, 2025. "The impact of geopolitical risks on the renewable energy transition," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    12. Zeng, Shihong & Gu, Yuxiao & Su, Bin & Li, Tengfei, 2025. "Energy consumption transition and green total factor productivity in Chinese prefecture-level cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    13. Yang, Senmiao & Wang, Jianda & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng & Wang, Kun & Fu, Xiaowen, 2024. "Is artificial intelligence technology innovation a recipe for low-carbon energy transition? A global perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    14. Li, Lanbing & Zhao, Jiawei & Yang, Yuhan & Ma, Dan, 2025. "Artificial intelligence and green development well-being: Effects and mechanisms in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    15. Ding, Tao & Li, Hao & Liu, Li & Feng, Kui, 2024. "An inquiry into the nexus between artificial intelligence and energy poverty in the light of global evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    16. Lv, Zhaojiang & Chen, Lan & Ali, Syed Ahtsham & Muda, Iskandar & Alromaihi, Abdullah & Boltayev, Jurabek Yusufovich, 2024. "Financial technologies, green technologies and natural resource nexus with sustainable development goals: Evidence from resource abundant economies using MMQR estimation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    17. Ullah, Atta & Nobanee, Haitham & Ullah, Saif & Iftikhar, Huma, 2024. "Renewable energy transition and regional integration: Energizing the pathway to sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    18. Tao, Weiliang & Weng, Shimei & Chen, Xueli & ALHussan, Fawaz Baddar & Song, Malin, 2024. "Artificial intelligence-driven transformations in low-carbon energy structure: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    19. Li, Cai & Sampene, Agyemang Kwasi & Wiredu, John & Nsiah, Takyi Kwabena, 2025. "Economic policy uncertainty and renewable energy transition: Assessing the impact of resource richness, environmental technology, and environmental governance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    20. Shiyue Su & Md. Qamruzzaman & Salma Karim, 2023. "Charting a Sustainable Future: The Impact of Economic Policy, Environmental Taxation, Innovation, and Natural Resources on Clean Energy Consumption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-34, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q2 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:146:y:2025:i:c:s0140988325003093. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.