Study on the Spatial Characteristics and Spillover Effects of Carbon Emissions in the Yangtze River (Main Stream) Basin

Qiongzhi Liu and Dapeng Zhao ()
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Qiongzhi Liu: School of Economics and Management, Wuhan University, Luojiashan Hill, Wuhan 430072, China
Dapeng Zhao: School of Economics and Management, Wuhan University, Luojiashan Hill, Wuhan 430072, China

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Carbon emissions reduction is crucial to global climate governance and sustainable development. By 2060, China envisioned being carbon-neutral, and it has adopted a series of policies and measures for environmental management, especially in the main stream of Yangtze River basin, where China’s carbon emissions are centered. The spatial distribution characteristics and agglomeration effects of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in the main stream of Yangtze River basin are analyzed from 2010 to 2019 based on the perspective of local (city and state) administrative regions, and uses the spatial Durbin model to examine the influencing factors and spatial spillover effects of carbon emissions. The findings discovered from the extensive research are as follows: First, carbon emissions in the main stream of Yangtze River basin present a fluctuating upward trend, and CO 2 emissions in the lower reaches are significantly higher than those in the middle and upper reaches, which are closely related to the economic volume. Secondly, carbon emissions have a significant positive spatial correlation among prefecture-level cities, and carbon emissions show a high-high concentration in downstream regions and low-low concentration in upstream regions. Thirdly, regional economic development level, secondary industry development level, and population density have considerable influence on CO 2 emissions, among which the Kuznets hypothesis is evidenced by the interaction between economic progress and carbon emissions. Therefore, strengthening regional cooperation efforts and collaborating to promote low-carbon development are the vital ways to achieve carbon emissions reduction.

Keywords: Yangtze River basin; carbon emission; spatial spillover effect; carbon neutrality; agglomeration effects (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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