Nonlinear impacts of renewable energy consumption on economic growth and environmental pollution across China

Under the dual background of global climate change and regional air pollution, the emission reduction effect of renewable energy has received increasing attention worldwide. However, few studies have evaluated the nonlinear effects and spillover effects of renewable energy consumption (REC) on economy and environment over space and time. In this study, we select panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2005 to 2017 and construct multiple models to quantitatively evaluate the nonlinear effects, spatial spillover effects, and spatio-temporal heterogeneity effects of REC on China's economy and the environment. The results show that REC has an N-shaped curve relationship with economic growth and has an inverted N-shaped curve relationship with haze pollution and carbon emissions. Furthermore, we find that the spatial spillover effect of REC is larger than the local effect. Interestingly, REC has a negative impact on economic growth in 40% of provinces, increases haze pollution in 30% of provinces, and increases carbon emission in 60% of provinces. It is worth noting that the current impact of REC on carbon emissions in China is at a stage of switching from negative to positive effects (60% of provinces have a positive impact).