Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610059, China.
School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, 611130, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Apr;28(13):16165-16180. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-11669-0. Epub 2020 Nov 28.
Carrying out domestic research and development (R&D) activities can improve environmental performance. However, extant studies have not conclusively indicated that R&D activities in all energy fields lead to a reduction in the SO intensity. SO intensity is defined as the ratio of SO emissions to the GDP. Hence, green R&D activities are required. However, the strong heterogeneity between green R&D activities could have distinctive economic consequences. Thus, it is imperative to study the heterogeneity of green R&D activities on SO intensity. Moreover, previous studies have ignored regional differences. Although overlooked in the literature, a technology's adsorptive ability could be a key determinant of the effects of green R&D activities on SO intensity. Based on a linear analysis of China's provincial data over 2000-2016, we show that green R&D activities are instrumental in reducing SO intensity. Different green R&D activities have distinct goals and contrasting statistical effects on SO intensity. The empirical results show that the impact of green R&D activities on SO intensity differs by region. Lastly, it is proposed that green R&D activity effects on SO intensity are nonlinear by analysing a technology's adsorptive ability.
开展国内研发（R&D）活动可以提高环境绩效。然而，现有研究并未明确表明所有能源领域的 R&D 活动都能降低 SO 强度。SO 强度的定义为 SO 排放量与 GDP 的比值。因此，需要绿色 R&D 活动。然而，绿色 R&D 活动之间的强烈异质性可能会产生独特的经济后果。因此，研究绿色 R&D 活动对 SO 强度的异质性至关重要。此外，先前的研究忽略了区域差异。尽管在文献中被忽视，但技术的吸附能力可能是绿色 R&D 活动对 SO 强度影响的关键决定因素。基于对中国 2000-2016 年省级数据的线性分析，我们表明绿色 R&D 活动有助于降低 SO 强度。不同的绿色 R&D 活动有不同的目标，对 SO 强度的统计影响也不同。实证结果表明，绿色 R&D 活动对 SO 强度的影响因地区而异。最后，通过分析技术的吸附能力，提出了绿色 R&D 活动对 SO 强度的影响是非线性的。
