{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T12:46:12Z","timestamp":1790685972414,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]],"date-time":"2025-03-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1742256000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities","award":["2023MS081"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023MS081"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study directly aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), i.e., SDG-13 and SDG-4. Carbon emissions (CO2e) are primarily addressed under SDG-13: Climate Action, which aims to combat climate change and its impacts. CO2e reduction efforts contribute to achieving this goal by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. SDG 4: Quality Education aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all. It emphasizes explicitly lifelong learning opportunities and targets higher education (HE) access to improve skills for sustainable development. Therefore, the current study aims to examine the determinants of CO2e in China and the role of HE under the extended STIRPAT model. This study utilizes the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) methods using the time series data from 1985 to 2023. The finding shows that total population, GDP, and industry positively affect CO2e, while technological innovation and higher education negatively affect CO2e in China.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0319930","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]],"date-time":"2025-03-18T20:02:15Z","timestamp":1742328135000},"page":"e0319930","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Revisiting the determinants of CO2 emissions: The role of higher education under the extended STIRPAT model"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2040-3485","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Qiang","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,18]]},"reference":[{"issue":"14","key":"pone.0319930.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6114","DOI":"10.3390\/su16146114","article-title":"Modeling and Monitoring CO2 Emissions in G20 Countries: A Comparative Analysis of Multiple Statistical Models","volume":"16","author":"A Hussain","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0319930.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2093","DOI":"10.3390\/su11072093","article-title":"Disaggregation Method of Carbon Emission: A Case Study in Wuhan, China","volume":"11","author":"M Luo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sustainability"},{"key":"pone.0319930.ref003","article-title":"Renewable energy and CO2 emissions in developing and developed nations: a panel estimate approach","volume":"12","author":"W Jie","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front Environ Sci"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0319930.ref004","first-page":"1","article-title":"Does women\u2019s education play a role in sustainable environment in Pakistan? 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