Global warming, a persistent issue, needs comprehensive solutions. Shifting to sustainable resources and promoting green initiatives like green logistics, green investments, and environmental policies (such as environmental technology and environmental tax) are potential ways to address this challenge. The current study explores relationships between these factors and transportation emissions in China, with a focus on achieving the 2060 carbon neutrality goal. To investigate the research gap, the study employs the novel econometric, method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) for benchmark estimation and the bootstrap quantile regression (BSQR) technique for sensitivity estimations from 2000/Q1 to 2019/Q4, and the study confirms the hypothesis of "carbon neutrality." The results reveal that green logistics and green finance have a negative impact on transportation emissions across all quantiles. Environmental technology, environmental tax, and renewable energy also help reduce transportation emissions. On the contrary, economic growth increases transportation emissions, with a greater effect in the early quantile stages but a diminishing impact in later stages. Based on the study's findings, policymakers should prioritize sustainable development strategies to achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality." Implementing green logistics and promoting green investments are essential steps in this direction. Additionally, greater support should be given to the renewable energy sector, green technologies, and sustainable growth to achieve the carbon neutrality goal in China by 2060.
Keywords: China; Green finance; Green logistics; MMQR; Transportation emissions.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.