The Impact Of Climate Change On The Green Technology Innovation

In the new global political and economic situation,a series of climate issues such as greenhouse effect,air pollution and haze pollution have attracted more and more attention of governments of all countries,which have adopted different countermeasures to cope with and adapt to climate change.China takes climate change issues settlement as an important part of its national governance.Green technology innovation is indispensable for achieving the goal of economic growth and environmental protection.It is conducive to resolving the contradiction between environment and economic development,and is the best choice to achieve a win-win situation.Although China has made remarkable achievements in combating climate change and promoting green technology innovation,it also faces many difficulties and problems including insufficient green technology innovation,insufficient public investment and incentive,intellectual property barriers,and imperfect resource and environment price system.Issues about how to crack the difficulties in the green technology innovation,actively respond to climate change challenges,achieve the goal of“Carbon Emission Peak and Carbon Neutralization”on schedule,promote the development of Chinese economy with high quality and achieve common prosperity,are not only significantly practical issues to be effectively solved,but also issues needing to be further studied in theory.This dissertation,in order to provide reference for formulation and implementation of relevant policies by practical departments,conducts deep and systematic theoretical and empirical analysis on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation and its mechanism,which has very important theoretical and practical significance.The impacts of climate issues are complex and irreversible with the extremely strong externalities,so it is necessary for governments and international organizations to intervene.According to the existing literature at home and abroad,climate change and its impact,especially the impact on energy consumption,climate policy and its effect,have been discussed in depth.Some scholars think that the global warming is mainly caused by human behavior,namely the increase of greenhouse gas emissions,and green technology innovation is one of the main means of dealing with climate change.Green technology innovation can reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental performance,so promotion of green technology innovation and so on has become the consensus of the academic community.Linking green technology innovation with climate change and put it into the scope of climate change research,reducing carbon emissions and achieving the goal of carbon neutrality have become important theoretical hot points in the field of climate economics and environmental economics.The dynamic nature of climate change leads to a time lag in effect of climate policy.At present,the research on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation is scattered and lack of systematicness;The analysis of the impact of renewable energy policy on green technology innovation needs to be further improved.The analysis of the impact of climate change on green technology innovation,namely,the analysis of environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance,is relatively rare due to the dynamic nature of climate change.Therefore,this issue-oriented dissertation,centering on the theoretical and practical study on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation,the assessment of the short-term and long-term effects of climate change and the green technology innovation,aims to provide theoretical basis for the establishment of climate change policy and practical reference and basis for promoting green technology innovation and improving the level of green innovation.The introduction part presents the background and significance of this dissertation,and then combs and summarizes the relevant research literature at home and abroad based on the literature retrieval.The review shows that the academic circles have done a lot of research on climate change and its impact as well as green technology innovation and reached some consensus.However,there are still many important theoretical problems that deserve further study and some policy problems that need solving.The introduction also expounds the research framework,research ideas,research content and research methods,innovative points and shortcomings of this dissertation.Chapter one is about“Basic Concepts and Theoretical Basis”.On the basis of defining the basic concepts of climate change,climate policy and green technology innovation,this chapter sorts out the relevant theories on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation.The literature review shows that many theories,such as climate change economics,low-carbon economy theory,externality theory,technological innovation theory and environmental regulation theory,have been widely used in the practice of formulating relevant climate policies to deal with climate change in various countries.The channels,mechanisms and paths of climate change’s impact on green technology innovation have been instructively discussed from different perspectives in these theories,which has laid a solid theoretical foundation for further research in this dissertation.Chapter two is about“Theoretical Analysis of the Impact of Climate Change on Green Technology Innovation”.In this chapter,the author analyzes the impact and challenge of climate change,and discusses the impact of climate change on green technology innovation and its mechanism based on the analysis of the influencing factors of green technology innovation.Then,the influence of climate policy on green technology innovation and its mechanism are expounded,the influencing factors of environmental performance and the causal relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance are also discussed in this chapter.It is found that global climate change has become a major problem restricting the development of human society,and green technology innovation is the key to successfully cope with the global challenge of climate change.Green technology innovation is mainly influenced by R&D investment,globalization and direct foreign investment,political ideology and government policy,etc.Climate change plays a positive role in promoting green technology innovation,for instance,reducing carbon dioxide（CO₂）and greenhouse gas（GHG）emissions directly promotes the development,promotion and application of relevant green technologies,intellectual property system promotes the transfer and dissemination of green technology;Corruption shall have an indirect adverse impact on green technology innovation,and government policy incentives and constraints are conducive to promoting green technology innovation;Renewable energy policy can effectively promote green technology innovation,and the stronger ability of green innovation in the field of renewable energy a country has,the greater impact of renewable energy policies on green technology innovation shall be;Environmental performance is influenced by various factors such as environmental innovation,public expenditure and environmental expenditure.The improvement of environmental performance requires more environmental protection expenditure which can improve environmental performance.Chapter three presents“Empirical Analysis of The Impact of Climate Change on Green Technology Innovation”.In this chapter,dynamic panel SYS-GMM model is adopted to empirically analyze the impact of climate change on green technology innovation based on the data of 81 developing countries and regions from 1990 to 2018.The impact of carbon dioxide（CO₂）and greenhouse gas（GHG）on green technology innovation are measured firstly.Then,the Government Stability,the Bureaucracy Quality and the regulation of renewable energy policies,the regulation of population structure and the regulation of industrial structure（manufacturing industry and service industry）are introduced to test the robustness of the empirical results of green technology innovation affected by climate change.At the same time,this dissertation,using the alternative variable measurement methods,analyze the heterogeneity of the impact of climate change on green technology innovation through different time and different countries.The research results show that:（1）Climate change can promote green technology innovation,the increase of emissions of CO₂and GHG improves the level of green technology innovation,and economic growth,population growth,direct foreign investment and the increase of government integrity can also accelerate green technology innovation.（2）Government Stability and Bureaucracy Quality and the regulation of renewable energy policies have certain differences in the impact of climate change on green technology innovation.Government Stability and Bureaucracy Quality are not closely related to the impact of climate change on green technology innovation.While the renewable energy policies,economic growth and population factors have obvious regulatory effects on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation.In particular,renewable energy policies have played a very important role in the impact of climate change on green technology innovation.（3）Population structure has a positive impact on climate change and green technology innovation.The larger the proportion of the senior citizens aged 65and over and the more female population a country has,the greater the impact of climate change on green technology innovation shall be,and the more green technology innovations to deal with climate change shall have.（4）Countries and regions with different proportions of manufacturing and service industries have certain differences in whether to carry out green technology innovation in the face of climate change.In the face of climate change,countries and regions with a high proportion of manufacturing industry will make more green technology innovations,while the increase of service industry shall not be conducive to or shall not promote green technology innovation.（5）The impact of climate change on green technology innovation is still significant after considering different time,different countries and alternative variable measurement methods,and the level of economic development plays an important role in the impact of climate change on green technology innovation.Chapter four is about“Empirical Analysis of The Impact of Climate Policy on Green Technology Innovation”.Based on the panel data of 102 countries and regions from 1990to 2018,the fixed-effect panel quantile model is used to analyze the impact of renewable energy policies on green technology innovation.The chapter firstly analyzes the way in which the renewable energy policy promotes the green technology innovation.Then it examines the impact of renewable energy policies on wind,hydropower,photovoltaic,geothermal and solar sectors using the OECD’s 2018 statistical database.At the same time,institutional and economic variables are introduced to test the impact of renewable energy policy on green technology innovation under the condition of interaction of institutional quality and industrial structure.The research results show that:（1）Renewable energy policy has a significant promoting effect on green technology innovation in specific areas of renewable energy,and urbanization rate,GDP level,export and FDI,carbon dioxide emissions and R&D investment have impacted on green technology innovation in renewable energy at different level.T Renewable energy policies have a greater impact on countries with stronger renewable energy green technology innovation ability.Urbanization in countries and regions with low level of green technology innovation has a restraining effect on green technology innovation;The increase of GDP,i.e.the economic growth,promotes the green technology innovation of countries in the early stage of green renewable energy innovation,and there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and green technology innovation growth.The increase in exports and FDI inhibits the green technology innovation of renewable energy in a country;The increase of CO₂emission and R&D investment has a significant promoting effect on green technology innovation of renewable energy.（2）Different types of renewable energy policies have different impacts on green technology innovation and the investment intensity and development scale of different types of renewable energy industries in different development stages are also different.Low level green technology innovation is not enough to drive green technology innovation in the field of renewable energy;The green technology innovation level of geothermal energy is at a low level for a long time.Renewable energy policies of countries with strong green technology innovation capacity of renewable energy shall be more likely to promote green technology innovation.（3）When the government is more stable and the institutional quality is better,the renewable energy policy shall be more effective in promoting green technology innovation of renewable energy;When the proportion of manufacturing industry is relatively high,the renewable energy policy shall produce more green technology innovation of renewable energy.Chapter five is about“Climate Change and Green Technology Innovation Expansion Analysis”.Based on the panel data of 34 countries and regions from 2005 to 2017,econometric methods such as Pedroni panel co-integration test,FMOLS technology and VECM estimation,panel D-H causality are used to analyze the relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance,so as to expand the analysis of climate change and green technology innovation.Based on the sub-samples,such as OECD and non-OECD countries,as well as the sub-samples of emerging market and non-emerging market countries,energy efficiency was incorporated into the model and robustness tests were conducted.The results show that（1）environmental protection expenditure has a positive impact on environmental performance.（2）There is a two-way relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance.Specifically,in countries such as Afghanistan,Australia,Israel,Kenya,Kyrgyzstan,Moldova,the Philippines,Turkey and Ukraine,increase in environmental spending will lead to improvement in environmental performance and vice versa;whereas in Belarus,El Salvador,Guatemala,Iceland,Lebanon,the Russian Federation,Spain and Thailand,there is no significant two-way impact between environmental expenditure and environmental performance.（3）The relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance is not significant in the short term,but there is a two-way relationship between them in the long term.Specifically,environmental protection expenditure cannot change environmental performance in the short term,but in the long run,environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance promote each other.（4）In OECD countries,environmental protection expenditure can change environmental performance in the long run,but environmental performance has no effect on environmental protection expenditure,but there is a two-way relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance in OECD countries in the long run;whether it’s in emerging market countries or non-emerging market countries,environmental protection expenditure can change environmental performance in the long run and vice versa.When energy efficiency is included in the analysis,a long-term equilibrium relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance can still be confirmed.Chapter six includes“Research Conclusions and Policy Recommendations”.In this part,the author firstly first summarizes the main viewpoints and conclusions of the research work,and then puts forward relevant policy suggestions on promoting green technology innovation in response to climate change.Specifically,these suggestions include:active efforts on the governments’part to respond to climate change and promote economic growth,multiple measures to promote green technology innovation,the optimization of renewable energy policies to improve the quality of green technology innovation,and the building of a long-term mechanism for green technology innovation in response to climate change.This dissertation tries to make contributions and innovations in the following aspects.First,innovation of research content.At present,the theoretical studies on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation are scattered and lack systematicness.Some mainly focused on the dangers posed by climate change to such aspects as human health and natural ecosystems,as well as the social and economic challenges brought by climate change;some focused on the policies in response to climate change and the analysis of their effect;some focused on the analysis of the influence of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions on green technology innovation.A complete theoretical system is yet to be formed.In particular,due to the dynamic nature of climate change,there is delay in the effect of climate policy,and there are relatively few theoretical assessments of the impact of climate policy on green technology innovation and its effect.Based on the analysis of the internal mechanism and path of climate change affecting green technology innovation,this dissertation further clarifies the impact of climate change on green technology innovation and its mechanism on a theoretical level,and tries to build a theoretical analysis framework of the impact of climate change on green technology,which will help to enrich and complement the research content of climate change economics and green technology innovation theory,and provide theoretical reference for the in-depth and systematic research of related issues.At the same time,the empirical analysis of the impact of climate change and climate policy on green technology innovation is conducted successively.Based on this,the empirical study of the two-way relationship between environmental protection expenditure and environmental performance is conducted to evaluate the short-term and long-term effects of climate change on green technology innovation.It makes up for the limitation of existing research on the one-way relationship between climate change and green technology innovation,expands the research on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation,and provides a theoretical basis for climate policy to promote green technology innovation practice.On this basis,this dissertation puts forward relevant countermeasures and suggestions to improve the level of green technology to improve environmental performance in response to climate change.The dissertation is relatively rich in research content,has a relatively complete research system,and is obviously innovative in terms of research content.Second,innovation of academic viewpoint.This dissertation conducts theoretical and empirical research on the impact of climate change on green technology innovation,and makes some innovative explorations.This dissertation proposes that climate policy formulated to deal with climate change will be affected by political ideology and government governance.Economic growth,population growth,foreign direct investment and the increase of government integrity all play a positive role in promoting climate change impact on green technology innovation.Renewable energy policy plays a significant role in promoting green technology innovation in specific fields of renewable energy.When the government is more stable and the institutional quality is better,the renewable energy policy will be more effective in promoting green technology innovation of renewable energy.When the proportion of manufacturing sector is high,the renewable energy policy will bring more green technology innovation of renewable energy.Energy efficiency is the main driver of short-term and long-term environmental performance improvements,and governments should take measures to improve energy efficiency.Increasing environmental protection expenditure and promoting green technology innovation are the fundamental ways to cope with climate change and improve environmental performance.And the list goes on.These innovative academic views further improve and enrich the research on climate change and green technology innovation,and broaden the field of study on related issues.Third,innovation of research methods.In this dissertation,dynamic panel SYS-GMM model is used to estimate the impact of climate change on green technology innovation and its mechanism and effect.The effects of renewable energy policy on green technology innovation and different fields of renewable energy are investigated by using panel quantile（QRDP）model with fixed effects.The bidirectional causal relationship between climate change and green technology innovation is analyzed by using the co-integration test.And the list goes on.The empirical research conducted with these research methods further strongly proves the basic argument that climate change contributes to promoting green technology innovation,and at the same time enriches the empirical analysis methods of the impact of climate change on green technology innovation,making the empirical results more convincing.Fourth,innovation in policy and institutional arrangements.Based on the theoretical analysis and empirical results,this dissertation proposes institutional arrangements to optimize climate change policies and improve green technology innovation,including active efforts on the governments’part to respond to climate change and promote economic growth,multiple measures to promote green technology innovation,the optimization of renewable energy policies to improve the quality of green technology innovation,and the building of a long-term mechanism for green technology innovation in response to climate change.These institutional arrangements are designed to achieve both short-term and long-term goals of climate change,give consideration to both macro strategy and micro operability,and emphasize international coordination.They help to provide optimized development ideas,implementation paths and policy basis for promoting green technology innovation and improving environmental performance in addressing climate change,and can also provide Chinese model and policy experience for reference for the global response to climate change.