In economies, cleaner technology, increased demand for renewable energy, and more efficient use of natural resources contribute to meeting environmental sustainability targets. The Chinese economy is no exception in its attempts to conserve economic and natural resources via collaborative efforts to embrace cleaner technology, green energy sources, and resource conservation management to preserve resources for future generations. This research examines the influence of cleaner technologies, green energy sources, and natural resource management on reducing greenhouse gas emissions using quarterly data for the Chinese economy from 2000Q1 to 2020Q4. The findings demonstrate that increasing demand for green energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions, hence substantiating the premise of ‘green is clean’ energy development. Additionally, optimum resource usage enhances environmental quality, corroborating the ‘resource cleaner blessing’ hypothesis. The positive link between inward foreign direct investment and greenhouse gas emissions substantiates the ‘pollution haven’ concept, according to which inward foreign direct investment uses unsustainable technology in manufacturing processes, hence degrading air quality indicators. Inadequate access to clean cooking technology and increased population density has a detrimental effect on the country’s environmental sustainability agenda, which must be corrected via sustainable regulations. The causality estimates show the feedback relationship between renewable energy demand (and economic growth) and cleaner technology, between economic growth and green energy (and inbound foreign direct investment), and between population density and economic growth (and green energy). The Impulse Response function estimates suggested that economic growth and population density would likely increase GHG emissions. In contrast, cleaner technology, green energy demand, natural resource management, and inbound foreign direct investment would likely decrease greenhouse gas emissions for the next ten-year time period. The sustainability of the environment and natural resources in China is bolstered by developing cleaner technologies, a greater reliance on renewable energy sources, and better management of natural resources.

The study examines the relationship between growth–inequality–poverty (GIP) triangle and crime rate under the premises of inverted U-shaped Kuznets curve and pro-poor growth scenario in a panel of 16 diversified countries, over a period of 1990–2014. The study employed panel Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimator for robust inferences. The results show that there is (i) no/flat relationship between per capita income and crime rate; (ii) U-shaped relationship between poverty headcount and per capita income and (iii) inverted U-shaped relationship between income inequality and economic growth in a panel of selected countries. Income inequality and unemployment rate increases crime rate while trade openness supports to decrease crime rate. Crime rate substantially increases income inequality while health expenditures decrease poverty headcount ratio. Per capita income is influenced by high poverty incidence, whereas health expenditures and trade factor both amplify per capita income across countries. The results of pro-poor growth analysis show that though the crime rate decreases in the years 2000–2004 and 2010–2014, while the growth phase was anti-poor due to unequal distribution of income. Pro-poor education and health trickle down to the lower income strata group for the years 2010–2014, as education and health reforms considerably reduce crime rate during the time period.