A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.

The Chinese government has established definitive goals to reach a "carbon peak" by 2030 and achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Investigating the attainment of these emission reduction objectives while simultaneously fostering regional economic growth and enhancing living stand...

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Main Authors: Qin Yuan, Ruiqi Wang, Huanchen Tang, Xin Ma, Xinyue Zeng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309546
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author Qin Yuan
Ruiqi Wang
Huanchen Tang
Xin Ma
Xinyue Zeng
author_facet Qin Yuan
Ruiqi Wang
Huanchen Tang
Xin Ma
Xinyue Zeng
author_sort Qin Yuan
collection DOAJ
description The Chinese government has established definitive goals to reach a "carbon peak" by 2030 and achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Investigating the attainment of these emission reduction objectives while simultaneously fostering regional economic growth and enhancing living standards holds critical importance. This study examines the link between higher education and carbon intensity across China's thirty provincial-level administrative regions, employing fixed effects models on provincial panel data spanning 2001-2020. The findings, validated through robustness tests and a mediation effect model, elucidate the mechanisms by which higher education influences carbon intensity. Notably, the results reveal that enhancing higher education markedly lowers carbon intensity; specifically, a 1% increase in the logarithmic transformation of per capita investment in higher education in a province decreases its carbon intensity by 0.219%. Additionally, higher education's output similarly contributes to reductions in carbon intensity. The influence of higher education on reducing carbon intensity is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions of China. Moreover, higher education facilitates the reduction of carbon intensity through mechanisms such as promoting environmental consciousness, advancing industrial structure, and encouraging technological innovation.
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spelling doaj-art-0eddbb61fe404028a7788bc5cb5ac8342024-12-04T05:31:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-011911e030954610.1371/journal.pone.0309546A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.Qin YuanRuiqi WangHuanchen TangXin MaXinyue ZengThe Chinese government has established definitive goals to reach a "carbon peak" by 2030 and achieve "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Investigating the attainment of these emission reduction objectives while simultaneously fostering regional economic growth and enhancing living standards holds critical importance. This study examines the link between higher education and carbon intensity across China's thirty provincial-level administrative regions, employing fixed effects models on provincial panel data spanning 2001-2020. The findings, validated through robustness tests and a mediation effect model, elucidate the mechanisms by which higher education influences carbon intensity. Notably, the results reveal that enhancing higher education markedly lowers carbon intensity; specifically, a 1% increase in the logarithmic transformation of per capita investment in higher education in a province decreases its carbon intensity by 0.219%. Additionally, higher education's output similarly contributes to reductions in carbon intensity. The influence of higher education on reducing carbon intensity is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions of China. Moreover, higher education facilitates the reduction of carbon intensity through mechanisms such as promoting environmental consciousness, advancing industrial structure, and encouraging technological innovation.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309546
spellingShingle Qin Yuan
Ruiqi Wang
Huanchen Tang
Xin Ma
Xinyue Zeng
A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.
PLoS ONE
title A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.
title_full A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.
title_fullStr A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.
title_full_unstemmed A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.
title_short A study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity.
title_sort study on the potential of higher education in reducing carbon intensity
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309546
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