Is Technological Innovation Effective for Energy Saving and Carbon Emissions Reduction? Evidence From China

Technological innovation is increasingly becoming an important way to develop a low-carbon economy. Recently, exploring the driving path of low-carbon development has become the hot topic, however, the role of energy consumption in the carbon-reduction effect of technological innovation has been ignored. Based on China's provincial-level panel data from 2005 to 2016, this paper investigates the effect of technological innovation on energy saving and carbon emissions reduction and the role of energy consumption in the influencing process by using linear regression model, mediating effect model and threshold regression model. The results show that technological innovation has effectively promoted energy saving and carbon emissions reduction in China, with different effect coefficients between the three areas of China. Moreover, energy consumption plays a significant partial mediating role in the effect of technological innovation on carbon emissions reduction. Finally, the effect of technological innovation on carbon emissions is limited by energy consumption. Low energy consumption significantly promotes a reduction in carbon emissions through technological innovation. Once energy consumption exceeds a critical level, the promoting effect of technological innovation on carbon emissions reduction will turn into the inhibiting effect. Based on these findings, some policy recommendations are put forward to accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the economy.