Research on the impact of heterogeneous technological progress on carbon emissions based on patent data——evidence from China

Ji Tingting; Cai Linmei

Abstract：Technological progress is the key to meet the challenges of climate change and energy transformation and upgrading,while"one-size-fits-all"technological policies are not conducive to the effective fulfilment of their carbon emissions reduction role.Therefore,it is necessary to conduct a comparative analysis of the direction and extent of the impact of heterogeneous technological progress on carbon emissions.Based on the patent data of the five major Patent Offices,we obtained the number of patent applications for new energy technology,fossil energy technology and climate change mitigation technology in China from 1998 to 2020,and explored them with the help of econometric models.The study shows that the progress of new energy technology reduces carbon emissions in both the short and long term,the progress of fossil energy technology promotes carbon emissions and there is a difference between the short and long term,and the progress of climate change mitigation technology does not have an obvious effect on carbon emissions.On the basis of that,we should focus on strengthening the R&D investment in new energy technology,adopt a phased development strategy for fossil energy technology,and make reasonable use of market instruments for climate change mitigation technology,so as to optimise the carbon emissions reduction technology policy system and effectively bring into play the carbon emissions reduction effects of different technological advances,and other policy recommendations.