Abstract
Low-carbon energy technology (LC) innovation contributes to both environmental protection and economic development. Using the panel data of 30 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities in China from 1998 to 2017, this paper constructs a two-layer logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) model to uncover the factors influencing the variation of the innovation of LC in China’s industrial sectors, including the alternative energy production technology (AEPT) and the energy conversation technology (ECT). The results show that China’s industrial LC patent applications rapidly increased after 2005 and AEPT patent applications outweighed ECT patent applications all the time with a gradually narrowing gap. Low-carbon degree played the dominant role in promoting the increase in China’s industrial LC patent applications, followed by the economic scale, R&D (research and development) efficiency, and R&D share. Economic structure contributed to the increases in LC patent applications in the central and the western regions, while led to the decreases in the eastern region, the northeastern region, and Chinese mainland1). Low-carbon degree and economic scale were two main contributors to the growths of both industrial AEPT patent applications and ECT patent applications in Chinese mainland and the four regions. Several policy recommendations are made to further promote industrial innovation in China.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- LMDI:
-
Logarithmic mean Divisia index
- LC:
-
Low-carbon energy technology
- AEPT:
-
Alternative energy production technology
- ECT:
-
Energy conversation technology
- IEA:
-
International Energy Agency
- UNEP:
-
United Nations Environment Programme
- OECD:
-
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- IDA:
-
Index decomposition analysis
- IPC:
-
International Patent Classification
- WIPO:
-
World Intellectual Property Organization
References
Cancino C A, La Paz A I, Ramaprasad A, et al. Technological innovation for sustainable growth: an ontological perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, 179: 31–41
Zhu J, Fan Y, Deng X. et al. Low-carbon innovation induced by emissions trading in China. Nature Communications, 2019, 10(1): 4088
Dai H, Xie X, Xie Y. Green growth: the economic impacts of large-scale renewable energy development in China. Applied Energy, 2016, 162: 435–449
Albino V, Ardito L, Dangelico R M, et al. Understanding the development trends of low-carbon energy technologies: a patent analysis. Applied Energy, 2014, 135: 836–854
Zhang X, Zhao X, Jiang Z et al. How to achieve the 2030 CO2 emission-reduction targets for China’s industrial sector: retrospective decomposition and prospective trajectories. Global Environmental Change, 2017, 44: 83–97
Wang B, Zhao C. China’s green technological innovation-patent statistics and influencing factors. Journal of Industrial Technological Economics, 2019, 7: 53–66 (in Chinese)
Hall B H, Griliches Z, Hausman J A. Patents and R&D: is there a lag? International Economic Review, 1986, 27(2): 265–283
Fujii H, Managi S. Decomposition analysis of sustainable green technology inventions in China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2019, 139: 10–16
Chen J, Cheng J, Dai S. Regional eco-innovation in China: an analysis of eco-innovation levels and influencing factors. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017, 153: 1–14
Brunnermeier S B, Cohen M A. Determinants of environmental innovation in US manufacturing industries. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2003, 45(2): 278–293
Popp D. International innovation and diffusion of air pollution control technologies: the effects of NOx and SO2 regulation in the US, Japan, and Germany. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2006, 51(1): 46–71
Corsatea T D. Technological capabilities for innovation activities across Europe: evidence from wind, solar and bioenergy technologies. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2014, 37: 469–479
Fujii H, Managi S. Research and development strategy for environmental technology in Japan: a comparative study of the private and public sectors. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2016, 112: 293–302
Cho J H, Sohn S Y. A novel decomposition analysis of green patent applications for the evaluation of R&D efforts to reduce CO2 emissions from fossil fuel energy consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2018, 193: 290–299
Jordaan S M, Romo-Rabago E, McLeary R, et al. The role of energy technology innovation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: a case study of Canada. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, 78:1397–1409
Lubango L M. Effects of international co-inventor networks on green inventions in Brazil, India and South Africa. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 244: 118791
Montenegro R L G, Ribeiro L C, Britto G. The effects of environmental technologies: evidences of different national innovation systems. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020, 284: 124742
Sun Y, Lu Y, Wang T, et al. Pattern of patent-based environmental technology innovation in China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2008, 75(7): 1032–1042
Tan X. Clean technology R&D and innovation in emerging countries-experience from China. Energy Policy, 2010, 38(6): 2916–2926
Chen H, Wang X, Singh B. Can private domestic investment lead Chinese technological progress? Economic Modelling, 2018, 70: 186–193
Chen Z, Zhang J. Types of patents and driving forces behind the patent growth in China. Economic Modelling, 2019, 80: 294–302
Fujii H. Decomposition analysis of green chemical technology inventions from 1971 to 2010 in Japan. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, 112: 4835–4843
Ang B W, Choi K H. Decomposition of aggregate energy and gas emission intensities for industry: a refined Divisia index method. Energy Journal, 1997, 18(3): 59–73
Wang M, Feng C. Using an extended logarithmic mean Divisia index approach to assess the roles of economic factors on industrial CO2 emissions of China. Energy Economics, 2018, 76: 101–114
Wang M, Feng C. The impacts of technological gap and scale economy on the low-carbon development of China’s industries: an extended decomposition analysis. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2020, 157: 120050
Ang B W, Liu F L. A new energy decomposition method: perfect in decomposition and consistent in aggregation. Energy, 2001, 26(6): 537–548
Ang B W, Zhang F Q, Choi K H. Factorizing changes in energy and environmental indicators through decomposition. Energy, 1998, 23 (6): 489–495
Lin B, Zhu J. Determinants of renewable energy technological innovation in China under CO2 emissions constraint. Journal of Environmental Management, 2019, 247: 662–671
Kim K, Kim Y. Role of policy in innovation and international trade of renewable energy technology: empirical study of solar PV and wind power technology. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015, 44: 717–727
Xu S C, He Z X, Long R Y, et al. Comparative analysis of the regional contributions to carbon emissions in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, 127: 406–417
Ye B, Jiang J J, Li C, et al. Quantification and driving force analysis of provincial-level carbon emissions in China. Applied Energy, 2017, 198: 223–238
Zhang X, Geng Y, Shao S, et al. Decoupling PM2.5 emissions and economic growth in China over 1998–2016: a regional investment perspective. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, 714: 136841
Lin S, Lin R, Sun J, et al. Dynamically evaluating technological innovation efficiency of high-tech industry in China: provincial, regional and industrial perspective. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 2020: 100939
Cheng H F, Lu J J. Empirical analysis of the influence of knowledge capital on total factor productivity of industrial enterprises. Economic Research Journal, 2014, 5: 174–187 (in Chinese)
You J H, Wang P. Can environmental regulation promote R&D tend to green technological research and development. Economic Review (Kansas City, Mo.), 2016, (3): 26–38 (in Chinese)
Zhang D, Wang J, Lin Y, et al. Present situation and future prospect of renewable energy in China. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, 76: 865–871
Price L, Levine M D, Zhou N, et al. Assessment of China’s energy-saving and emission-reduction accomplishments and opportunities during the 11th Five Year Plan. Energy Policy, 2011, 39(4): 2165–2178
Zhou Y. Mixed-market and crisis mitigation: lessons from the performance of China’s ICT industry before and after the 2008 crisis. Eurasian Geography and Economics, 2015, 56(2): 193–219
Gao C, Yin H, Ai N, et al. Historical analysis of SO2 pollution control policies in China. Environmental Management, 2009, 43(3): 447–457
Xu B, Lin B. Regional differences of pollution emissions in China: contributing factors and mitigation strategies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016, 112: 1454–1463
Li L, Liu X, Ge J, et al. Regional differences in spatial spillover and hysteresis effects: a theoretical and empirical study of environmental regulations on haze pollution in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2019, 230: 1096–1110
Hong J, Feng B, Wu Y, et al. Do government grants promote innovation efficiency in China’s high-tech industries? Technovation, 2016, 57–58: 4–13
Dhrifi A. Foreign direct investment, technological innovation and economic growth: empirical evidence using simultaneous equations model. International Review of Economics, 2015, 62(4): 381–400
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 71810107001, 72088101 and 71690241).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
1) Xizang (Tibet) Autonoomous Region is not considered due to lack of data. The same below.
Electronic Supplementary Material
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, X., Geng, Y., Tong, Y.W. et al. Trends and driving forces of low-carbon energy technology innovation in China’s industrial sectors from 1998 to 2017: from a regional perspective. Front. Energy 15, 473–486 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-021-0738-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-021-0738-z