How do renewable energy transformation and technological innovation promote carbon productivity? Empirical evidence from China

The Chinese government is committed to achieve the goal of “double carbon” and proposes to shift from double control of energy consumption to double control of carbon emissions. In this scenario, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the impact of renewable energy transformation (RET) and technological innovation on carbon productivity (CP). Based on panel data obtained from 30 provinces of China from 2004 to 2021, this study empirically investigated the influence of RET and technological innovation on CP by using panel mean group (MG) estimation. For robustness test, ordinary least squares estimation method was adopted. The main conclusions are as follows: First, based on MG estimation, it was observed that RET has significant positive impact on CP in China. However, the coefficient of technological innovation was found to be significantly negative, indicating that enhancing technological innovation can improve CP. Additionally, the findings showed that economic development and industrial upgradation had a positive impact on CP. Second, the heterogeneity study showed that the RET in the eastern and western regions of China can improve CP. The coefficient of RET in the western region was significantly higher than that in the eastern region. The technological innovation coefficients in the eastern and central regions were significantly positive and enhancing technological innovation in these two regions can considerably improve CP; the technological innovation coefficient in the eastern region was higher than that in the central region. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) coefficients of the three regions were significantly positive and enhancing economic development can increase CP in these three regions. Finally, to improve CP, it is suggested to promote RET, increase investment in research and development, enhance technological innovation, emphasize high-quality development, prioritize adapting to local conditions, and implement region-appropriate policies and measures.