Navigating Environmental Concerns: Unveiling the Role of Economic Governance, Energy Transition, and Population Aging on Transport-Based CO 2 Emissions in China

Huan Wu, Jianguo Du () and Yasir Rasool ()
Additional contact information
Huan Wu: School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Jianguo Du: School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Yasir Rasool: School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-26

Abstract: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is crucial for addressing global environmental challenges. SDG 13 calls for urgent climate action, while SDG 7 promotes sustainable energy. These objectives are particularly relevant to China, where transport-related CO 2 emissions continue to rise due to urbanization, industrial growth, and increasing energy demand. This study examines the impact of economic governance, population aging, human capital, financial innovation, GDP growth, and energy transition on China’s transport-related CO 2 emissions, using quarterly data from 2006Q1 to 2018Q4. The Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) is applied to analyze heterogeneous effects across different emission levels. The findings reveal that economic governance (ECOG), energy transition (ENT), and human capital (HI) significantly reduce transport CO 2 emissions (TCO 2E ) by enhancing institutional effectiveness and promoting clean energy adoption. In contrast, population aging (POPAGE), financial innovation (FI), and GDP contribute to higher emissions by increasing energy consumption and private transport dependency. These insights highlight the need for stronger governance frameworks, sustainable financial policies, and increased investment in renewable energy. Policymakers should strengthen environmental regulations, expand green financing initiatives, and enhance public transport infrastructure to align with SDGs 7 and 13. By implementing these strategies, China can make significant progress toward reducing transport emissions, achieving carbon neutrality, and ensuring long-term sustainability.

Keywords: transport CO 2E; population aging; economic governance; financial innovation; energy transaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1748/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/7/1748/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:7:p:1748-:d:1625034

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().