The roles of hydro, nuclear and biomass energy towards carbon neutrality target in China: A policy-based analysis

China's sustainable development relies vastly on the country's ability to produce safe and reliable resources which can help the country meet its carbon neutrality target by 2060. In this study, we therefore deem it necessary to examine the role of nuclear energy, hydro, and biomass energy on China's overall ecological footprint in the presence of important control variables like GDP, trade, industrialization, human capital and government stability. Quarterly data from 1970Q1 to 2020Q4 is included and quantile-based causality in mean and variance is employed for empirical analysis. The findings suggest the presence of strong causal linkages between all three forms of clean energy toward ecological footprint in China. However, the predictive power of clean energies for ecological footprint is insignificant at the upper quantiles of its distribution. Implications of our results point toward a quick and wide-scale deployment of clean energy sources before the ecological footprint reaches at peak levels. Otherwise, the usefulness of nuclear, biomass, and hydro energies in bringing down the emissions may decline. Government authorities and environmentalists in China need to be vigilant in deploying clean energies before its too late. Finally, policy directions are discussed in line with sustainable development goals (SDGs).