Driving Factors and Growth Potential of Provincial Carbon Productivity in China

Miaomiao Niu, Xianchun Tan, Jianxin Guo, Guohao Li and Chen Huang
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Miaomiao Niu: Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Xianchun Tan: Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Jianxin Guo: Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Guohao Li: Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
Chen Huang: School of Public Policy and Management, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: Climate change has become a global concern, and the development of a green economy has attracted wide attention. Understanding the driving factors and growth potential of provincial-level carbon productivity is crucial for China’s green economic development in the new normal phase. In this study, the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) is adopted to systematically investigate the driving factors of provincial carbon productivity and explore the growth potential of provinces’ carbon productivity based on the clustering analysis. The results show that: (1) China’s provincial carbon productivity presents an increasing trend in 2001–2017, but the differences in carbon productivity among provinces are widening. (2) Economic activity and industrial structure are key to push up regional carbon productivity in China, while energy intensity is the main factor pulling it down. (3) The potential for carbon productivity improvement varies greatly among provinces in the four groups. Specifically, in groups 1 and 2, the developed provinces have little potential for improving carbon productivity, while the developing provinces in group 4 are just the opposite. These findings can enlighten policymakers that the development of a green economy should focus on optimizing and upgrading industrial structure and reducing energy intensity, and provincial heterogeneity must be considered when formulating green economic development policies.

Keywords: carbon productivity; driving factor; growth potential; logarithmic mean Divisia index; clustering; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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