Beyond the Arena: How sports economics is advancing China's sustainable development goals

In recent years, China has made tremendous progress. The general quality of living of the population has risen. As the China economy grows, so too will the middle class, laying the groundwork for the expansion of the sports business. At the same time, reaching a certain level of success in the sports sector would benefit the economy. In some Western developed nations, for instance, the sports industry's economic impact has already surpassed that of the traditional economy. The economy has reached a new plateau because of it. The sports business in China has matured to a certain extent, but it is still in its infancy. The growth of the sports business has not been without its share of challenges. In this paper, we focus on how the sports sector in China contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. To begin, the foreign sports industry's growth process, development status, influencing factors, and existing issues were compared and analyzed in order to gain insight into its conditions, characteristics, and contribution to economic growth. This research also explores the role of the sports industry from 1990 to 2020. This study considers the determinants of carbon emission (CO2): GDP per capita, technological development, social globalization, energy consumption, and the sports industry. The study employs the unit root test, ARDL bound test, AARDL estimation, NARDL test, and MTNARDL test to check the outcomes of variables in this analysis. The effect of GDP per capita, technological development, social globalization, energy consumption, and the sports industry has a positive and negative impact on carbon emission (CO2) in China. In terms of outcomes, this study suggests how a country can maximize green economic growth.