Associate Professor Xiaohang Ren, a researcher at the Base, has published a collaborative paper titled "Natural gas and the battle of carbon emissions: Interpreting the spatial effects of provincial carbon emissions in China" in the important academic journal International Review of Economics & Finance.

Abstract: China has consistently sought clean energy solutions to mitigate carbon emissions, with natural gas being an effective alternative. Utilizing carbon emissions data from China spanning 2010 to 2020, this study applies spatial econometric models to analyze the spatial effects of natural gas consumption on provincial carbon emissions. The study identifies spatial patterns in carbon emissions across China and notes σ convergence among provincial emissions. Additionally, the effectiveness of natural gas in mitigating carbon emissions is affected by factors such as pricing, geographic location, and economic development levels, rather than resulting in direct emission reductions. Natural gas usage elevates carbon emissions within the province while curbing emissions in neighboring regions. Moreover, mediation mechanisms reveal that natural gas consumption can indirectly enhance carbon emissions via agricultural expansion, economic progress, and uncertainties in climate policies. The results illustrate that the mechanisms influencing the carbon reduction effects of natural gas are multifaceted. Achieving significant reductions in carbon emissions through natural gas necessitates a holistic consideration of factors such as spatial spillover, pricing, and economic development levels.

Keywords: Carbon emissions; Spatial spillover; Natural gas; Mechanism analysise

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2024.103835

Teacher profile

Xiaohang Ren is a Distinguished Associate Professor at the Business School, Central South University, an Elsevier China Highly Cited Researcher, and a Top 2% Scientist Worldwide. He mainly engages in research on energy finance, financial risk, and financial econometrics. He has published more than 100 papers in authoritative journals at home and abroad,including Journal of the American Statistical Association,Transportation Research Part A, Energy Economics, Quantitative Finance, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, International Review of Financial Analysis, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Business Strategy and the Environment, Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Applied Energy, Resources Policy, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy, Journal of Management Sciences in China (English Edition), Systems Engineering — Theory and Practice, and Chinese Journal of Management Science. Among these, more than 30 are ESI Hot Papers/Highly Cited Papers. He serves as Section Editor of Sustainable Communities (Taylor & Francis), Associate Editor of journals such as Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (the only humanities and social sciences journal under Nature), and Guest Editor of several SSCI journals including Climate Change Economics and Economic Change and Restructuring