Examining the asymmetric socioeconomic determinants of CO2 emissions in China: challenges and policy implications

A better socioeconomic development is necessary for environmental sustainability. The current study scrutinizes the asymmetric socioeconomic factors of CO2 emissions in China by using the nonlinear ARDL approach. This study is based on annual data covering the period from 1980 to 2019. Results show that positive change in economic growth is the leading driver of CO2 growth, while a negative change in economic growth is offsetting CO2 emissions in China. Concurrently, positive and negative changes in energy consumption have adverse impacts on CO2 emissions in the long term, while negative shock has a small influence on CO2 emissions compared to the positive shock of energy. Positive years of schooling, shocks are found to be beneficial for fighting against CO2 emissions in China in the long run. The CO2 emissions are asymmetrically affected by the social and economic structure of China. Based on these empirical findings, thereby China should improve its socioeconomic development and standards of CO2 emissions.