Xi Qin

Using the ARDL test and Granger approaches, this paper investigates long-term co-integration and causal relationships among nuclear, renewables, GDP and CO2 emissions in China, US, France and Japan. The findings reveal that the long-term coefficient of nuclear energy is smaller than renewable energy, indicating a relative advantage of nuclear power. However, the emission reduction effect of nuclear and renewables in China was not as much as compared to other nations. Moreover, causality from economic growth to nuclear or renewable energy existed in all countries, whereas no causality from nuclear energy to economic growth existed except in Japan. Therefore, giving priority to energy conservation and energy mix optimization is not likely to hurdle economic growth in China. However, greenness of the overall energy production process, augmentation of energy efficiency, technological progress in energy storage and internet, sustainable development of resource-society, and nuclear safety issues should be given priority in order to contribute to low-carbon growth in China.

Green growth of sectors with extensive energy and environmental impacts represented by the iron and steel (IS) industry plays a critical role in fostering sustainable and inclusive development. This paper constructs an updated evaluation model for green growth estimation by combining a global Malmquist–Luenberger index and an epsilon-based measure. A comprehensive decomposition framework is further posited to reveal underlying determinants of green growth. Research findings based on empirical tests from the panel data of Chinese IS firms spanning 2010–2017 demonstrate that the green growth level increased by 0.80% annually and followed the east–central–west gradient distribution. Technology progress and scale efficiency are two main contributors to China’s IS industrial green growth, whereas managerial inefficiency and scale bias of technical change hinder the productivity gains. The aforementioned factors also play different roles in enhancing the green growth of divergent regions. In accordance, context-specific practical implications and suggestions are put forward based on the research findings to facilitate the green growth of China’s IS industry.