Harmonizing sustainability: Unveiling the nexus of public private investment, natural resources, and environmental dynamics by applying ARDL and machine learning approach

Abstract

The shift to zero-carbon emissions nurtures enormous economic opportunities owing to stimulating the creation of new industries, offering jobs, and driving technological innovation. This study aims to investigate the dynamics among public–private energy investment, natural resources rent, environmental technologies, and carbon neutrality in China over the period spanning from 1984 to 2021. We employ the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method to determine the long-term and short-term connections between those factors. The Kernel-based Regularized Least Squares (KRLS) machine learning approach is used for the robustness check. Our findings demonstrate that while public-private energy investment and environmental technology decrease, natural resources rent is linked to increased carbon emissions. Moreover, the moderating effect of natural resources rent and environmental technology raises the success rate of public-private energy investment in supporting net-zero emissions. . The study findings call for reassessing policy priorities to harness the potential of investments and innovations in environmental protection, while addressing the challenges of urbanization and economic growth.

Keywords

• Public-private investment
• Natural resources rent
• Carbon neutrality
• ARDL & KRLS
• China