Empowering tomorrow: Unleashing the role of technology driven energy efficiency for sustainable development in China

Abstract

The underlying objective of the study is to investigate the energy efficiency improvement potentiality of total technological innovation and its components, such as residential and non-residential technological innovations, by controlling for economic growth and energy prices in China. To this end, the study employs Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), Canonical Cointegrating Regression (CCR), and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) based on the unit root testing and Johansen and Juselius cointegration test outcomes. Thus, the results confirm the long-run relationship among the series under investigation. Further, it shows that total technological innovation and its components, i.e., residential and non-residential technological innovations, have the potential to improve energy efficiency. However, economic growth and energy prices are reducing energy efficiency. Moreover, these findings are stable while applying the other alternative methods for robustness. Therefore, the study suggests policy recommendations aimed at promoting technology that may be either residential or non-residential technological innovations to increase energy efficiency. Additionally, it urges designing national-level energy policy to boost economic progress by conserving energy along with measures to stabilize energy prices.