Examining the dynamics of ecological footprint in China with spectral Granger causality and quantile-on-quantile approaches

With 2.5 global hectares (gha) per capita against 2.7 gha capita, China’s ecological footprint is desirably below the world’s average capita. Undesirably, country’s person outweighs biocapacity of 1.7 gha, thus signifying an enormous pressure on capacity. This reason accounts for motivation to explore dynamics China over period 1971–2016 by employing a series empirical techniques that include quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR), spectral Granger causality (SGC), and quantile regression. Indicatively, findings are in folds. First, from QQR, economic growth exerts positive effect (i) especially middle (0.4–0.7) (ii) all quantiles (0.01–0.95) growth. Second, both fossil fuel primary energy utilization exert impact two profiles. Third, it surprising see renewable exerting at lower tail (0.1–0.40) use higher (0.70–0.95). Additionally, SGC result revealed long-run without reverse. reverse, there short-, medium-, long-term. Importantly, overall policy implication suggests more drastic decoupling supply side (ecological environmental deprivation).