Understanding the importance of sustainable ecological innovation in reducing carbon emissions: investigating the green energy demand, financial development, natural resource management, industrialisation and urbanisation channels

Humanity is in more danger from escalating greenhouse gas (G.H.G.) emissions, making the world warmer. The study examined the relationship between China’s environmental technologies, ecological innovation, and carbon emissions using time-series data from 1975 to 2020. The N.A.R.D.L. approach is used to examine the cointegration of variables in the short and long run. In the short run, environmental technologies, industrialisation (I.N.D.), positive shocks to natural resource depletion (N.R.D.), negative shocks to renewable energy (R.E.) use, and technical advancements affect carbon emissions. On the other hand, positive shocks to environmental technologies and financial development (F.D.), negative shocks to N.R.D., R.E. consumption (E.C.), and technical innovation all have a long-term effect on carbon emissions. Granger causality was used to examine the causal link between variables. According to the findings, environmental technologies, F.D., technical innovation, N.R.D., and economic growth (E.G.) cause carbon emissions. The impulse response function revealed an inverse link between asymmetric environmental technology and carbon emissions. In contrast, F.D. and N.R.D. directly affect environmental degradation over time. The outcome of the variance decomposition revealed that negative shocks of F.D. would likely exert greater pressure on achieving sustainable environmental agenda. Investment in environmental technology, F.D., technological innovation and R.E. should be encouraged by the Chinese government to achieve sustainable prosperity.