The Impact of Infrastructure Stock Density on CO 2 Emissions: Evidence from China Provinces

Ji Han, Xing Meng, Yanqi Zhang and Jiabin Liu
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Ji Han: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Rd. 500, Shanghai 200241, China
Xing Meng: School of Geographical Sciences, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Rd. 500, Shanghai 200241, China
Yanqi Zhang: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Rd. 500, Shanghai 200241, China
Jiabin Liu: Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Dongchuan Rd. 500, Shanghai 200241, China

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Infrastructure not only plays an import role in socioeconomic development, but also results in a remarkable increase of CO 2 emissions. Based on a panel data analysis of 29 provinces in China from 1995 to 2013, we investigated the relationship between socioeconomic development and CO 2 emissions with special focus on the impact of infrastructure stock density in both the country and regional scales. The results confirmed that a 1% increase of material stocks in infrastructure per built-up area would lead to a 0.11% decrease in CO 2 emissions at the country level. The effect of infrastructure stock density on CO 2 emissions varied across regions, for which elasticity was ?0.34, 0.06, and 0.14 for the eastern, central, and western region, respectively. In order to achieve a low-carbon and sustainable development, it is crucial to improve the spatial compactness of infrastructure in the future. Policy implications include upgrading the economic structure to a low-carbon one for the eastern region, accelerating the development of renewable energy infrastructure, and constructing and utilizing infrastructure in an energy-efficient way for the central and western regions.

Keywords: material stocks; CO 2 emissions; infrastructure; panel data; STIRPAT (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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