Does solar PV bring a sustainable future to the poor? - an empirical study of anti-poverty policy effects on environmental sustainability in rural China

Improving the socioeconomic status of poor households has always been considered as an effective method to the help poor out of environmental inequality, but there is little literature to prove whether poverty alleviation measures can also have environmental deprivation for the poor. In this study, we explored whether the Chinese government's efforts for the poor to escape poverty can achieve environmental sustainability, and whether photovoltaic poverty alleviation projects (PPAP) can alleviate regional poverty while avoiding environmental deprivation. In order to find if the government's attempts to protect the environment and reduce poverty are effective, we evaluated in this article the impact factors of China's anti-poverty policy on the environmental sustainability in rural poor areas from the perspectives of poor households' environmental awareness and surrounding eco-environment. The methods used in this article are Entropy Weight Method (EWM) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). The results show that only anti-poverty policies related to education and sustainable agriculture have positive impacts on rural environmental sustainability. The direct effect of photovoltaic poverty alleviation policy on environmental sustainability in the poverty-stricken areas from a micro perspective is not optimistic. Poverty alleviation projects related to renewable energy should consider increasing the participation of poor households. Based on the conclusions of this study, we have proposed corresponding policy recommendations.