Livelihood security and energy transition: A perspective on capacity reduction in fossil energy rich regions in North and Western China

Abstract

Will the reduction of fossil energy production capacity have a serious impact on the livelihood level of traditional energy production areas? This is a major issue that needs to be addressed in order to achieve energy structure transformation while maintaining social stability. This article uses panel data from fossil energy production regions from 1986 to 2022 to apply the research ideas of resource curse and threshold regression method to the study of the relationship between energy industry dependence and per capita consumption level in fossil energy production regions. The study suggests that in the negative correlation zone between energy industry dependence and per capita consumption level, reducing production capacity in fossil energy production regions will not only not reduce people's livelihood level, but also help eliminate the crowding out effect on the manufacturing industry, reduce the inhibitory effect on innovation and technological progress, improve government performance, and thus promote long-term economic growth and long-term improvement of people's livelihood level.