Towards a Decoupling between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emissions of the Transport Sector in the Yellow River Basin

Shiqing Zhang (), Yaping Li, Zheng Liu, Xiaofei Kou and Wenlong Zheng
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Shiqing Zhang: School of Management Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Yaping Li: School of Management Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Zheng Liu: School of Management Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Xiaofei Kou: School of Management Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Aeronautics, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Wenlong Zheng: College of Transportation Engineering, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710064, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-26

Abstract: Realizing the decoupling development between the economic expansion and carbon dioxide emissions of the transport sector is of great importance if the Yellow River basin is to achieve green and low-carbon development. In this paper, we adopt the Tapio decoupling index to examine the decoupling relationship within the transport sector in the Yellow River basin, and then introduce the standard deviational ellipse to dynamically analyze the spatial heterogeneity of carbon emissions and economic growth at the provincial level. Furthermore, based on the decoupling method, we expand the traditional logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition (LMDI) model to decompose the decoupling index into eight sub-indices, and we identify the impact of each factor on the decoupling relationship. The results indicate that the carbon emissions of the transport sector in the Yellow River basin show the non-equilibrium characteristics of “upstream region < midstream region < downstream region”. The decoupling state of the transport sector shows obvious spatial differences. The less-developed regions are more likely to present non-ideal decoupling states. The growth rate of carbon emissions in Sichuan, Qinghai, and Shandong provinces is relatively fast, and the azimuth of the transport sector’s carbon emissions shows a clockwise trend. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of urbanization on decoupling in the Yellow River basin are much greater than the non-urbanization factors. In addition to the effect of urbanization, the transport structure has a major negative effect on decoupling development in the upstream and midstream regions, while energy intensity and energy structure are key to realizing a decoupled status in the downstream region. Finally, we propose some differentiated policy recommendations.

Keywords: CO 2 emissions of transport sector; decoupling relationship; standard deviational ellipse; influencing factor; Yellow River basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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