IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i17p12730-d1222882.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green Eco-Innovation and Supply of Critical Metals: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Shengzhe Ruan

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China
    Center of Resource and Environmental Economics, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China)

  • Yi Song

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China
    Center of Resource and Environmental Economics, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China)

  • Jinhua Cheng

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China
    Center of Resource and Environmental Economics, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China)

  • Cheng Zhan

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China
    Center of Resource and Environmental Economics, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430078, China)

Abstract

Ensuring a green supply of critical metals is essential to achieve high-quality economic development and ecological security. Based on data from 2000 to 2019 on five critical metals in China (copper, aluminum, nickel, antimony, and titanium), this study employs a series of econometric methods, such as fixed-effects regression and moderating effects, to examine the influence of green eco-innovation on primary and recycling supply of critical metals, as well as the underlying mechanisms. The findings indicate: (1) Green eco-innovation has an inverted U-shaped impact on the primary supply of bulk critical metals, and it is currently in the declining phase of the curve. (2) Green eco-innovation has a U-shaped impact on the recycling supply of critical metals and the primary supply of minor critical metals. The former is currently in the rising phase of the curve, while the latter is in the declining phase. (3) The impact of green eco-innovation on the supply of critical metals is stronger in industrially underdeveloped regions. (4) The improvement of energy efficiency, optimization of energy structure, and strengthening of environmental regulations enhance the impact of green eco-innovation on the supply of critical metals. Finally, the optimization of the energy mix is conducive to securing the supply of key metals. This study provides a theoretical basis for utilizing green eco-innovation to achieve a green supply of critical metals and enriches the theoretical research on green eco-innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Shengzhe Ruan & Yi Song & Jinhua Cheng & Cheng Zhan, 2023. "Green Eco-Innovation and Supply of Critical Metals: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:17:p:12730-:d:1222882
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/12730/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/17/12730/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Song, Yi & Zhang, Zhouyi & Zhang, Yijun & Cheng, Jinhua, 2022. "Technological innovation and supply of critical metals: A perspective of industrial chains," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    2. Xiao Yu & Yingdong Xu & Jian Zhang & Yue Sun, 2022. "The Synergy Green Innovation Effect of Green Innovation Subsidies and Carbon Taxes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-27, March.
    3. Ibrahim, Ridwan Lanre & Al-mulali, Usama & Ozturk, Ilhan & Bello, Ajide Kazeem & Raimi, Lukman, 2022. "On the criticality of renewable energy to sustainable development: Do green financial development, technological innovation, and economic complexity matter for China?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 262-277.
    4. Shijing Nan & Zhaomin Wang & Jinwei Wang & Jianluan Wu, 2022. "Investigating the Role of Green Innovation in Economic Growth and Carbon Emissions Nexus for China: New Evidence Based on the PSTR Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Bahman Peyravi & Kęstutis Peleckis & Artūras Jakubavičius, 2023. "Eco-Innovation Performance of Lithuania in the Context of European Environmental Policy: Eco-Innovation Indicators and Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    6. Weisong Mi & Kaixu Zhao & Pei Zhang, 2022. "Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Driving Mechanism of Green Innovation in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-27, April.
    7. Chang, Kai & Zeng, Yonghong & Wang, Weihong & Wu, Xin, 2019. "The effects of credit policy and financial constraints on tangible and research & development investment: Firm-level evidence from China's renewable energy industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 438-447.
    8. Jiskani, Izhar Mithal & Cai, Qingxiang & Zhou, Wei & Ali Shah, Syed Ahsan, 2021. "Green and climate-smart mining: A framework to analyze open-pit mines for cleaner mineral production," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    9. Zhang, Zhouyi & Song, Yi & Cheng, Jinhua & Zhang, Yijun, 2023. "Effects of heterogeneous ICT on critical metal supply: A differentiated perspective on primary and secondary supply," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Nihal Ahmed & Franklin Ore Areche & Dante Daniel Cruz Nieto & Ricardo Fernando Cosio Borda & Berenice Cajavilca Gonzales & Piotr Senkus & Paweł Siemiński & Adam Skrzypek, 2022. "Nexus between Cyclical Innovation in Green Technologies and CO 2 Emissions in Nordic Countries: Consent toward Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Shang, Hua & Jiang, Li & Pan, Xianyou & Pan, Xiongfeng, 2022. "Green technology innovation spillover effect and urban eco-efficiency convergence: Evidence from Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    12. Fang, Chuandi & Cheng, Jinhua & Zhu, Yongguang & Chen, Jiahao & Peng, Xinjie, 2021. "Green total factor productivity of extractive industries in China: An explanation from technology heterogeneity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    13. Lin, Yuancheng & Ma, Linwei & Li, Zheng & Ni, Weidou, 2023. "The carbon reduction potential by improving technical efficiency from energy sources to final services in China: An extended Kaya identity analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    14. Wajahat Ali & Azrai Abdullah & Muhammad Azam, 2016. "The Dynamic Linkage between Technological Innovation and carbon dioxide emissions in Malaysia: An Autoregressive Distributed Lagged Bound Approach," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 6(3), pages 389-400.
    15. Pargal, Sheoli & Wheeler, David, 1996. "Informal Regulation of Industrial Pollution in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1314-1327, December.
    16. Chen, Huanyu & Yi, Jizheng & Chen, Aibin & Peng, Duanxiang & Yang, Jieqiong, 2023. "Green technology innovation and CO2 emission in China: Evidence from a spatial-temporal analysis and a nonlinear spatial durbin model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    17. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    18. Kneller, Richard & Manderson, Edward, 2012. "Environmental regulations and innovation activity in UK manufacturing industries," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 211-235.
    19. Feng, Chen-Yu & Yang, Xiaodong & Afshan, Sahar & Irfan, Muhamamd, 2023. "Can renewable energy technology innovation promote mineral resources’ green utilization efficiency? Novel insights from regional development inequality," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    20. Du, Kerui & Li, Pengzhen & Yan, Zheming, 2019. "Do green technology innovations contribute to carbon dioxide emission reduction? Empirical evidence from patent data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 297-303.
    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. Xie, Rong-hui & Yuan, Yi-jun & Huang, Jing-jing, 2017. "Different Types of Environmental Regulations and Heterogeneous Influence on “Green” Productivity: Evidence from China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 104-112.
    2. Chris Belmert Milindi & Roula Inglesi-Lotz, 2023. "Impact of technological progress on carbon emissions in different country income groups," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(5), pages 1348-1382, August.
    3. Muhammad Azam & Zia Ur Rehman & Yusnidah Ibrahim, 2022. "Causal nexus in industrialization, urbanization, trade openness, and carbon emissions: empirical evidence from OPEC economies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13990-14010, December.
    4. Mahmood, Nasir & Zhao, Yingjun & Lou, Qinqin & Geng, Jinzhou, 2022. "Role of environmental regulations and eco-innovation in energy structure transition for green growth: Evidence from OECD," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    5. Jianshi Wang & Yu Cheng & Chengxin Wang, 2022. "Environmental Regulation, Scientific and Technological Innovation, and Industrial Structure Upgrading in the Yellow River Basin, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Song, Yi & Ruan, Shengzhe & Cheng, Jinhua & Zhang, Yijun, 2023. "Technological change in critical metallic mineral sub-sectors and its impacts on mineral supply: Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    7. Xu Dong & Wensi Fu & Yali Yang & Chenguang Liu & Guizhi Xue, 2022. "Study on the Evaluation of Green Technology Innovation Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors in the Central Plains City Cluster of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-24, September.
    8. Bai, Dongbei & Hu, Jin & Irfan, Muhammad & Hu, Mingjun, 2023. "Unleashing the impact of ecological civilization pilot policies on green technology innovation: Evidence from a novel SC-DID model," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    9. Haider Mahmood & Maham Furqan & Najia Saqib & Anass Hamadelneel Adow & Muzaffar Abbas, 2023. "Innovations and the CO 2 Emissions Nexus in the MENA Region: A Spatial Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-20, July.
    10. Shobande, Olatunji A. & Ogbeifun, Lawrence, 2023. "Pooling cross-sectional and time series data for estimating causality between technological innovation, affluence and carbon dynamics: A comparative evidence from developed and developing countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    11. Can, Muhlis & Ben Jebli, Mehdi & Brusselaers, Jan, 2021. "Exploring the Impact of Trading Green Products on the Environment: Introducing the Green Openness Index," MPRA Paper 106730, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Mar 2021.
    12. Chuantang Ren & Tao Wang & Yue Wang & Yizhen Zhang & Luwei Wang, 2023. "The Heterogeneous Effects of Formal and Informal Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation—An Empirical Study of 284 Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-17, January.
    13. Chen, Lei & Li, Ke & Chen, Shuying & Wang, Xiaofei & Tang, Liwei, 2021. "Industrial activity, energy structure, and environmental pollution in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    14. Li, Lei & Ma, Shaojun & Zheng, Yilin & Ma, Xiaoyu & Duan, Kaifeng, 2022. "Do regional integration policies matter? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment on heterogeneous green innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    15. Youngho Kang & Byung-Yeon Kim, 2018. "Immigration and economic growth: do origin and destination matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(46), pages 4968-4984, October.
    16. Cho, Seo-young & Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2010. "Compliance for big brothers: An empirical analysis on the impact of the anti-trafficking protocol," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 118, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    17. Martin T. Robson & Colin Wren, 1999. "Marginal and Average Tax Rates and the Incentive for Self‐Employment," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(4), pages 757-773, April.
    18. Sylvain Catherine & Thomas Chaney & Zongbo Huang & David Sraer & David Thesmar, 2022. "Quantifying Reduced‐Form Evidence on Collateral Constraints," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(4), pages 2143-2181, August.
    19. Emmanuel Ebo Arthur & Solomon Gyamfi & Wolfgang Gerstlberger & Jan Stejskal & Viktor Prokop, 2023. "Towards Circular Economy: Unveiling Heterogeneous Effects of Government Policy Stringency, Environmentally Related Innovation, and Human Capital within OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-18, March.
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/dambferfb7dfprc9m052g20qh is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Hu, Hui & Qi, Shaozhou & Chen, Yuanzhi, 2023. "Using green technology for a better tomorrow: How enterprises and government utilize the carbon trading system and incentive policies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:17:p:12730-:d:1222882. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.