Abstract
China’s rapid economic growth in recent decades has caused a growing problem of environmental pollution, which negatively impacts the physical and mental health of residents. In recent years, renewable energy has emerged as a promising solution to alleviate environmental pollution and improve residents’ well-being. However, it is unknown whether renewable energy development can counterbalance the health impacts of environmental pollution. Therefore, we conducted a study using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to examine the impact of environmental pollution and renewable energy on the health of 20,694 residents. Our analysis showed that renewable energy development can partially offset the negative health effects of environmental pollution. Specifically, we found that a 1% increase in environmental pollution is linked to an average decrease of 0.0911% in physical health (PHY) and 0.0566% in mental health (MEN), whereas each 1% rise in renewable energy corresponds to an average increase of 0.2585% in PHY and 0.1847% in MEN. These positive effects apply to male and female residents, urban and rural residents, young and middle-aged adults, and people with low, medium, and high levels of education. These findings are significant for decision-makers striving to improve Chinese residents’ physical and mental health by considering the specific impact of renewable energy and comprehensive environmental pollution.
Graphical Abstract
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
All the survey data in this paper are from the CFPS database (HTTP://www.issss.pku.edu.cn/cfps). All these data come from the statistical data of CFPS database in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. The data of 18 environmental pollutants for calculating the environmental pollution index are derived from the 2012-2018 China Statistical Yearbook.
Abbreviations
- PHY:
-
Physical health
- MEN:
-
Mental health
- RE:
-
Renewable energy consumption share
- EP:
-
Comprehensive environmental pollution index
- INC:
-
Total household income per respondent
- EDU:
-
Actual years of education of respondents
- GEN:
-
Respondent gender
- MAR:
-
Respondents’ marital status
- URB:
-
The type of residence of the respondents during the survey
- AGE:
-
Actual age of respondents
- IC:
-
Influence coefficient
References
Aamir S, Winkel C (2021) The impact of Covid-19 on Saudi Arabian female students: an application of the CES-D depression scale. J Educ Soc Res 11:23–48. https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2021-0003
Abbas J (2020) The Impact of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) Epidemic on individuals mental health: the protective measures of Pakistan in managing and sustaining transmissible disease. Psychiatr Danub 32(3-4):472–477. https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2020.472
Abbas J (2021) Crisis management, transnational healthcare challenges and opportunities: the intersection of COVID-19 pandemic and global mental health. Res Global 3:100037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2021.100037
Abbas J, Wang L, Belgacem SB et al (2023) Investment in renewable energy and electricity output: role of green finance, environmental tax, and geopolitical risk: empirical evidence from China. Energy 268:05115
Albanese S, Luca M, Vivo BD et al (2008) Relationships between heavy metal distribution and cancer mortality rates in the Campania region, Italy. Environ Geochem 8:387–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53159-9.00016-4
Arthur R, Baidoo MF, Antwi E (2011) Biogas as a potential renewable energy source: a Ghanaian case study. Renew Energy 36:1510–1516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2010.11.012
Balsalobre-Lorente D, He C, Pilař L, Shah SAR (2023) Tourism, urbanization and natural resources rents matter for environmental sustainability: The leading role of AI and ICT on sustainable development goals in the digital era. Res Policy 82:103445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103445
Bhaskaran K, Hajat S, Armstrong B et al (2021) Traffic-related air pollution and acute myocardial infarction. BMJ 343:d5531. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d5531
Bogan VL, Fertig AR (2013) Portfolio choice and mental health. Rev Finance 17:955–992. https://doi.org/10.1093/rof/rfs016
Brabhukumr A, Malhi P, Ravindra K et al (2020) Exposure to household air pollution during first 3 years of life and IQ level among 6-8-year-old children in India - A cross-sectional study. Sci Total Environ 709:135110.1–135110.8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135110
Chidichimo F, Biase MD, Straface S (2020) Groundwater pollution assessment in landfill areas: Is it only about the leachate? Waste Manag 102:655–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.11.038
Ding L, Buhs ES (2017) Effects of environment on depressive symptoms on Chinese left-behind Children. The Nebraska Educator 4:4–25. https://doi.org/10.13014/K2J964KP
Esquivel-Ferriño PC, Cantú-Cárdenas LG, González-Santiago O (2018) Perception of air and water pollution and its association with cancer risk perception in a region with high cancer mortality in mexico. An exploratory study. Revista internacional de contaminación ambiental 34:347–353. https://doi.org/10.20937/RICA.2018.34.02.14
Fergusson DM, Boden JM, Horwood LJ (2007) Recurrence of major depression in adolescence and early adulthood, and later mental health, educational and economic outcomes. Br J Psychiatry 191:335–342. https://doi.org/10.1109/23.281512
Goyal N, Canning D (2021) The association of in-utero exposure to ambient fine particulate air pollution with low birth weight in India. Environ Res Lett 16:34–54. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ABF18E
Gu R, Pu YP (2019) Will environmental pollution exacerbate labor price distortions ? - Micro evidence from CFPS. Indust Econ Res 3:101–113. https://doi.org/10.13269/j.cnki.ier.2019.03.009
Habeeb A, El-Tarabany AA (2018) Impact of environmental pollution on healthy and productivity of farm animals. Am Int J Multidiscipl SciRes 1:17–25. https://doi.org/10.46281/aijmsr.v1i3.189
Hafeez, A., Dangel, W. J., Ostroff, S. M., Kiani, A. G., Glenn, S. D., . . . Mokdad, A. H. (2023). The state of health in Pakistan and its provinces and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Glob Health, 11(2), e229-e243. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(22)00497-1.
Hardneck F, Israel G, Pool E et al (2018) Quantitative assessment of heavy metal effects on sperm function using computer-aided sperm analysis and cytotoxicity assays. Andrologia 50:131–141. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.13141
Hasan MK, Shahriar A, Jim KU (2019) Water pollution in Bangladesh and its impact on public health. Heliyon 5:21–45. https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2010.25050
Heaney CD, Wing S, Campbell RL et al (2011) Relation between malodor, ambient hydrogen sulfide, and health in a community bordering a landfill. Environ Res 111:847–852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2011.05.021
Hekmatpour P, Leslie CM (2022) Ecologically unequal exchange and disparate death rates attributable to air pollution: a comparative study of 169 countries from 1991 to 2017. Environ Res 212:113–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.113161
Hendryx M, Conley J, Fedorko E et al (2012) Permitted water pollution discharges and population cancer and non-cancer mortality: toxicity weights and upstream discharge effects in US rural-urban areas. Int J Health Geogr 11:9–29. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-072X-11-9
Huang Y, Dai Y, Li M et al (2021) Exposure to cadmium induces neuroinflammation and impairs ciliogenesis in hESC-derived 3D cerebral organoids. Sci Total Environ 797:149043. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149043
Iorember PT, Iormom B, Jato TP (2022) Understanding the bearable link between ecology and health outcomes: the criticality of human capital development and energy use. Heliyon 8(12):e12611. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12611
Jaffar, A., Balsalobre-Lorente, D., & Aljuaid, M. (2023). Environmental-related technologies and carbon neutrality challenges in emerging economies? A case study of China Springer, 25(7).
Jalan J, Somanathan E, Chaudhuri S (2009) Awareness and the demand for environmental quality: survey evidence on drinking water in urban India. Environ Dev Econ 14:665–692. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X08005020
Jennrich P (2015) The influence of arsenic, lead, and mercury on the development of cardiovascular diseases. Isrn Hypertension 2013:699–710. https://doi.org/10.5402/2013/234034
Kanowski LG, Jorm AF, Hart LM (2009) A mental health first aid training program for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: description and initial evaluation. Int J Ment Heal Syst 3:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-4458-3-10
Khan R, Saxena A, Shukla S et al (2021) Environmental contamination by heavy metals and associated human health risk assessment: a case study of surface water in Gomti River Basin, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:56105–56116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14592-0
Li CG, Fan XB, Hu YX et al (2022a) Spatial spillover effect of green finance on economic development, environmental pollution, and clean energy production across China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 7:10667–10699. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21782-x
Li G, Zeng Q, Pan X (2016) Disease burden of ischaemic heart disease from short-term outdoor air pollution exposure in Tianjin, 2002–2006. Eur J Prev Cardiol 23:1774–1782. https://doi.org/10.1177/2047487316651352
Li L, Lei Y, Wu S et al (2018) Evaluation of future energy consumption on PM2.5 emissions and public health economic loss in Beijing. J Clean Prod 187:1115–1128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.229
Li ZN, Liu M, Liu QJ (2022b) Can the clean transformation of cooking fuel consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation ? - Micro evidence based on CFPS2018. J Agri Forestry Econ Manag 21:239–248. https://doi.org/10.16195/j.cnki.cn36-1328/f.2022.02.26
Liu XH, Fan YC, Li C (2022) Research on the influence of new family concept on commercial pension insurance participation: empirical evidence based on CFPS2018 survey data. Northwest Population Journal 43(4):118–126. https://doi.org/10.15884/j.cnki.issn.1007-0672.2022.04.010
Luo H, Zhou W, Liu Y et al (2021) Pollution characteristics and influencing factors of dust at the bottom of open-pit coal mine in winter. Journal of Shenzhen University Science and Engineering 37(6):637–644. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1249.2020.06637
Ma J (2015) On the Construction of China’s Green Finance System. Finance. Forum 20:18–27. https://doi.org/10.16529/j.cnki.11-4613/f.2015.05.002
Ma YM, Wu YM, Wu BJ (2015) Comprehensive evaluation of sustainable development of urbanization in Yangtze River delta region–based on entropy method and quadrant graph method. Econ Geograph 35:47–53. https://doi.org/10.15957/j.cnki.jjdl.2015.06.007
Micah AE, Bhangdia K, Cogswell IE, Lasher D, Lidral-Porter B, Maddison ER et al (2023) Global investments in pandemic preparedness and COVID-19: development assistance and domestic spending on health between 1990 and 2026. Lancet Glob Health 11(3):e385–e413. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00007-4
Nawab T, Muneza C, Afghan M (2021) Impact of renewable energy consumption and health expenditure on air pollutants: implications for sustainable development in ASEAN countries. iRASD J Energy Environ 2:78–89. https://doi.org/10.52131/jee.2021.0202.0019 NBS. China Statistical Yearbook，2012-201
Nyambura C, Hashim NO, Chege MW et al (2019) Cancer and non-cancer health risks from carcinogenic heavy metal exposures in underground water from Kilimambogo. Groundw Sustain Dev 10:100315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2019.100315
Pandey A, Brauer M, Cropper ML et al (2021) Health and economic impact of air pollution in the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet Planet Health 5:25–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30298-9
Pedersen E, Larsman P (2008) The impact of visual factors on noise annoyance among people living in the vicinity of wind turbines. J Environ Psychol 28:379–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2008.02.009
Radloff LS (2016) The CES-D Scale. Appl Psychol Meas 1:385–401. https://doi.org/10.1177/014662167700100306
Riedel T, Kübeck C, Quirin M (2022) Legacy nitrate and trace metal (Mn, Ni, As, Cd, U) pollution in anaerobic groundwater: quantifying potential health risk from "the other nitrate problem". Appl Geochem 139:105254–105262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2022.105254
Ronny K, Hanne S (2016) Windmill noise annoyance, visual aesthetics, and attitudes towards renewable energy sources. Int J Environ Res Public Health 13:746–765. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13080746
Sadka M (2008) Environmental and health impacts of biomass as an energy source. China Foreign Med Treat 2:737–743. https://doi.org/10.1049/cp:19990586
Sanhueza PA, Torreblanca MA, Diaz-Robles LA et al (2009) Particulate air pollution and health effects for cardiovascular and respiratory causes in Temuco, Chile: a wood-smoke-polluted urban area. J Air Waste Manage Assoc 59:1481–1488. https://doi.org/10.3155/1047-3289.59.12.1481
Sattler S, Gignac J, Collingsworth J et al (2018) Achieving a clean energy transition in Illinois: economic and public health benefits of replacing coal plants in Illinois with local clean energy alternatives - ScienceDirect. Electr J 31:52–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tej.2018.11.001
Shah SAR, Zhang Q, Abbas J, Al-Sulaiti K (2023a) Waste management, quality of life and natural resources utilization matter for renewable electricity generation: the main and moderate role of environmental policy. Util Policy 82:100021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2023.0002
Shah SAR, Zhang Q, Balsalobre-Lorente D, Pilař L (2023b) Technology, urbanization and natural gas supply matter for carbon neutrality: a new evidence of environmental sustainability under the prism of COP26. Res Policy 82:103465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103465
Su Z, Cheshmehzangi A, Bentley BL et al (2022) Technology-based interventions for health challenges older women face amid COVID-19: a systematic review protocol. Syst Rev 11(1):1–8
Sun B, Yan H, Zhang T (2017) Built environmental impacts on individual mode choice and BMI: Evidence from China. J Transp Geogr 63:11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2017.07.004
Tan ZX, Zhang YY (2015) Empirical study on the relationship between fiscal decentralization and environmental pollution. Popul Resour Environ China 25:110–117. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-2104.2015.04.014
Ullah I, Rehman A, Khan FU et al (2020) Nexus between trade, CO2 emissions, renewable energy, and health expenditure in Pakistan. Int J Health Plann Manag 35:818–831. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2912
Vallero DA (2014) Fundamentals of air pollution[M]. Academic press
Wang C, Wang H, Zhang P (2022a) Effect of temperature on mental health: evidence and mechanisms from China. Available at SSRN 4015030. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4015030
Wang Q, Zhou K, Lin J (2022b) Variation characteristics of household energy equality in urban and rural China. Geogr J 77:457–473. https://doi.org/10.11821/dlxb202202013
Wen JO (2019) Housing prices and urban residents’ physical and mental health: empirical evidence from CFPS. J Finance Econ 45:141–152. https://doi.org/10.16538/J.CNKI.JFE.2019.09.011
Wu J (2020) Challenges for safe and healthy drinking water in China. Current Environ Health Rep 7:292–302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-020-00274-5
Wang S, Abbas J, Al-Sulati KI, Shah SAR (2023) The impact of economic corridor and tourism on local community's quality of life under one belt one road context. Eval Rev 47(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X231182749
Xiong J, Xu D (2021) Relationship between energy consumption, economic growth and environmental pollution in China. Environ Res 194:110718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2021.110718
Yang Q, Li Z, Lu X et al (2018) A review of soil heavy metal pollution from industrial and agricultural regions in China: pollution and risk assessment. Sci Total Environ 642:690–700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.068
Zhang C, Zhao W (2014) Panel estimation for income inequality and CO2 emissions: A regional analysis in China. Appl Energy 136(C):382–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2014.09.048
Zhang L, Li X, Chen H (2022) Haze air pollution health impacts of breath-borne VOCs. Environmental Science & Technology: ES&T 56(12):8541–8551. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01778
Yang Z, Yang B, Liu P et al (2021) Impact of temperature on physical and mental health: evidence from China. Weather Clim Soc 13:709–727. https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-21-0038.1
Zhang ZY, Shu H, Yi H et al (2021) Household multidimensional energy poverty and its impacts on physical and mental health. Energy Policy 156:112381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112381
Zhou Y, Zi T, Lang J et al (2020a) Impact of rural residential coal combustion on air pollution in Shandong. China Chemosphere 260:127517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127517
Zhou YM, Long SS, Li BY et al (2020b) Enrichment of cadmium in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown under different exogenous pollution sources. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:1158–1263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10282-5
Zhou Z, Zhao Y, Shen C et al (2021) Evaluating the effect of hierarchical medical system on health seeking behavior: a difference-in-differences analysis in China. Soc Sci Med 268:113372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113372
Zhu XD, Huang YY, Zhu SJ et al (2021) Technological innovation and its spatial difference in China's polluting industries under the influence of green finance. Geograph Sci 41:777–787. https://doi.org/10.13249/j.cnki.sgs.2021.05.005
Acknowledgements
We sincerely thank everyone who participated in the CFPS survey, the staff of the Institute of Social Science Survey of Peking University for providing detailed survey data.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42101326), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (B220201008), the Postdoctoral Fund of China (2021M703298), and the University Level Project of Guizhou University of Finance and Economics (2020XZD01).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Chenggang Li: data curation, methodology, conceptualization, writing—original draft. Xiangbo Fan: methodology, software, data curation, visualization, writing—original draft. Yuting Wang: writing—review and editing. Zuogong Wang: methodology, software, data curation. Yunxiao Dang: data curation, conceptualization. Yuanzheng Cui: conceptualization, supervision, project administration, writing—review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Roula Inglesi-Lotz
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Li, ., Fan, X., Wang, Y. et al. Can the development of renewable energy in China compensate for the damage caused by environmental pollution to residents’ health?. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 92636–92650 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28801-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28801-5