EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CLEAN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS INVESTMENT IN ENERGY, AND CHINA’S NET-ZERO EMISSIONS GOAL BY 2060: A MYTH OR REALITY?

China is the largest carbon emitter globally. As a result, the nation faces significant challenges in balancing its economic growth with its commitment to carbon neutrality. Given the goal of the Chinese economy to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, the publicprivate partnership (PPP) has emerged as a viable investment plan in clean technology in China. However, the long-term relationship between clean technological innovation under the PPP while controlling for carbon emissions and economic growth remains unknown. This study uses a quantile co-integration and quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) approach to understand this relationship. This study examined the determinants of China’s carbon emissions (CO2) from 1992 to 2020, focusing on clean techno-environmental innovation (CTEC), economic globalization (EGLO), fossil fuel consumption (FF), publicprivate investment in energy (PPE), and economic growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The methodology further addresses the nonlinear relationships and heterogeneity across distributional quantiles. Hence, the long-term co-integration between CO2 and its determinants could be understood. The results reveal there is long-term co-integration between CO2 and its determinants. Clean technology and PPE significantly reduce CO2, with techno-environmental innovation exhibiting stronger effects at lower emission quantiles. Conversely, economic globalization and fossil fuel consumption exacerbate CO2, particularly in high-emission quantiles. Economic growth consistently correlates with rising emissions, reflecting China’s developmental stage and prioritisation of industrialisation. Based on these findings, policy implications emphasise enhancing carbon trading mechanisms, accelerating low-carbon technology R&D, and regulating fossil fuel reliance. Regionally tailored strategies, such as optimising public-private partnerships and imposing CO2 thresholds on foreign investments, would also be viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]