Analysis of the Gravity Movement and Decoupling State of China’s CO 2 Emission Embodied in Fixed Capital Formation

Xi Zhang, Ziyan Gao, Yong Geng, Yen Wah Tong, Harn Wei Kua, Xiaoqian Song, Yue Xu and Fei Wu
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Xi Zhang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Ziyan Gao: SJTU-UNIDO Joint Institute of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Yong Geng: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Yen Wah Tong: Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore
Harn Wei Kua: Department of Building, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117566, Singapore
Xiaoqian Song: SJTU-UNIDO Joint Institute of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Yue Xu: School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100083, China
Fei Wu: Climate Policy Group, Institute for Environmental Decisions, ETH Zürich, 8006 Zürich, Switzerland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 24, 1-20

Abstract: Investment is an essential engine of economic growth and a major source of China’s CO 2 emission. It is therefore crucial to explore the gravity movement and decoupling state of China’s CO 2 emission embodied in fixed capital formation (FCF). This study aims to estimate China’s CO 2 emissions embodied in various categories of FCF by using input–output tables. The gravity model and Shapley decomposition method are used to explore the gravity movement and regional contributions for China’s CO 2 emissions embodied in FCF. Then, the Tapio decoupling model and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method are combined to uncover the decoupling relationship between CO 2 emissions and economic growth embodied in FCF and the corresponding driving factors. The results show that China’s CO 2 emissions embodied in FCF experienced a rapid increase during 2002–2012 and remained almost stable during 2012–2017. The gravity center for CO 2 emissions embodied in FCF moved toward northwest during 2002–2015, with the northwestern region and middle Yellow River region being the main engine regions. The relations between CO 2 emissions and added values embodied in various categories of FCF were weak decoupling during 2002–2017. Investment scale was the major factor inhibiting the decoupling, while embodied energy intensity was the major factor promoting the decoupling. Finally, several policy recommendations are proposed based on these findings.

Keywords: CO 2 emissions; fixed capital formation; gravity movement; decoupling state; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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