Impact of green technology innovation on carbon emissions: evidence from China's 276 cities

Green technology innovation (GTI) is commonly seen as an essential way to decrease carbon emissions (CE). However, its advancement may result in the so-called carbon rebound effect which may offset its emission-reducing efficacy. This study examines the overall effect of GTI on CE using a fixed-effect model and a large panel dataset comprising China's 276 cities from 2007-2017. The main research findings include: 1) there exist inverted U-shaped relationships between GTI and per capita as well as total CE for the entire data sample; 2) regional heterogeneity exists regarding the relationships between GTI and CE (CE per capita). The empirical results have important policy implications on GTI to contain CE.