Unraveling the complexity of China's sustainable development: A study on the interplay of natural resources, urbanization, and public transportation

With growth and economic development, there comes an environmental cost. The increased production level would mean that the manufacturing industries would now demand more resources to be consumed and transformed into finished goods. However, balancing economic development without hampering the environment is one of the biggest challenges for countries like China which are experiencing high volumes of economic development over the last two decades. Hence, the study's main objective is to cover the gap in the literature by addressing the role of Natural resources (NTR), Economic Development (ECD), Transportation (TRN), and Urbanization URB in the environmental pollution concerning China. The Quantile Autoregressive Distributed lag (QARDL) method determines the link between the abovementioned variables. The outcome reported the positive relationship of NTR, ECD, TRN, and URB across all of the quantiles of CO2. The findings urge China's policymakers and government institutions to take serious initiatives to address the environmental concerns that could reap benefits in the long and short run. •Balancing economic development and the environment is a challenge in China.•Study examines the role of natural resources, economic development, transportation, and urbanization on pollution in China.•QARDL method determines the relationship between variables and finds a positive relationship.•Findings urge policymakers to address environmental concerns in China.•Addressing environmental issues can bring long and short-term benefits.