Abstract
Regional integration effectively promotes the coordinated development of the economy and society in urban agglomerations. However, existing studies have paid little attention to the effect of regional integration on low-carbon development. To address this research gap, this study takes the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta implemented in 2010 as a natural experiment to explore the impact of regional integration on carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity by applying the differences-in-differences approach. Then, the mediating effect and moderating effect models are employed to investigate the influencing mechanisms involved. The results reveal that regional integration is positively correlated with CO2 emission intensity. In other words, the rising degree of regional integration cannot facilitate carbon emission reduction in China. According to the mechanism analysis, regional integration will indirectly increase CO2 emission intensity by strengthening economic connections among cities, while regional integration significantly reduces CO2 emission intensity through improving technological innovation. Furthermore, the moderating effect of industrial structure upgrading appears trivial in the Yangtze River Delta as a whole. The rationale is that the incumbent cities may optimize their industrial structure by transferring energy-intensive and high-polluting industries to the newly added cities. Finally, based on the above findings, this study offers several solid policy implications for promoting coordinated environmental governance.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baas T, Brücker H (2010) Macroeconomic impact of eastern enlargement on Germany and UK: evidence from a CGE model. Appl Econ Lett 17(2):125–128
Bai C, Zhou L, Xia M, Feng C (2020) Analysis of the spatial association network structure of China’s transportation carbon emissions and its driving factors. J Environ Manage 253:109765
Baron RM, Kenny DA (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J Pers Soc Psychol 51:1173–1182
Chen X, Huang B (2016) Club membership and transboundary pollution: evidence from the European Union enlargement. Energy Econ 53:230–237
Cheng S, Fan W, Chen J, Meng F, Liu G, Song M, Yang Z (2020) The impact of fiscal decentralization on CO2 emissions in China. Energy 192:116685
Cheng S, Fan W, Zhang J, Wang N, Meng F, Liu G (2021) Multi-sectoral determinants of carbon emission inequality in Chinese clustering cities. Energy 214:118944
Dong F, Li J, Zhang S, Wang Y, Sun Z (2019) Sensitivity analysis and spatial-temporal heterogeneity of CO2 emission intensity: evidence from China. Resour Conserv Recycl 150:104398
Feng Y, Peng D, Li Y, Liu S (2023) Can regional integration reduce carbon intensity? Evidence from city cluster in China. Environ Dev Sustain. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-02932-8
He W, Wang B, Danish WZ (2018) Will regional economic integration influence carbon dioxide marginal abatement costs? Evidence from Chinese panel data. Energy Econ 74:263–274
Hu Y, Ren S, Wang Y, Chen X (2020) Can carbon emission trading scheme achieve energy conservation and emission reduction? Evidence from the industrial sector in China. Energy Econ 85:104590
IPCC (2006) Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. vol 2. Available at: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl
Jones J, Serwicka I, Wren C (2018) Economic integration, border costs and FDI location: evidence from the fifth European Union enlargement. Int Rev Econ Financ 54:193–205
Kang J, Yu C, Xue R, Yang D, Shan Y (2022) Can regional integration narrow city-level energy efficiency gap in China? Energy Policy 163:112820
Li G, Guo F, Di D (2021) Regional competition, environmental decentralization, and target selection of local governments. Sci Total Environ 755:142536
Li C, Qi Y, Liu S, Wang X (2022) Do carbon ETS pilots improve cities’ green total factor productivity? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. Energy Econ 108:105931
Liu B, Tian C, Li Y, Song H, Ma Z (2018) Research on the effects of urbanization on carbon emissions efficiency of urban agglomerations in China. J Clean Prod 197:1374–1381
Lv Y, Pang Y, Doğan B (2022) The role of Chinese fiscal decentralization in the governance of carbon emissions: perspectives from spatial effects decomposition and its heterogeneity. Ann Reg Sci 68:635–668
Ma S (2022) Growth effects of economic integration: new evidence from the Belt and Road Initiative. Econ Anal Policy 73:753–767
Pan X, Guo S (2023) Dynamic decomposition and regional differences of urban emergy ecological footprint in the Yangtze River Delta. J Environ Manage 326:116698
Qian Y, Wang H, Wu J (2022) Spatiotemporal association of carbon dioxide emissions in China’s urban agglomerations. J Environ Manage 323:116109
Ren X, Zeng G, Gozgor Z (2023) How does digital finance affect industrial structure upgrading? Evidence from Chinese prefecture-level cities. J Environ Manage 330:117125
Rong T, Zhang P, Zhu H, Jiang L, Li Y, Liu Z (2022) Spatial correlation evolution and prediction scenario of land use carbon emissions in China. Eco Inform 71:101802
Shao S, Chen Y, Li K, Yang L (2019) Market segmentation and urban CO2 emissions in China: evidence from the Yangtze River Delta region. J Environ Manage 248:109324
Song C, Zhang Z, Xu W, Elshkaki A (2023) The spatial effect of industrial transfer on carbon emissions under firm location decision: a carbon neutrality perspective. J Environ Manage 330:117139
Tan F, Gong C, Niu Z (2022) How does regional integration development affect green innovation? Evidence from China’s major urban agglomerations. J Clean Prod 379:134613
Tian Y, Mao Q (2022) The effect of regional integration on urban sprawl in urban agglomeration areas: A case study of the Yangtze River Delta. China Habitat Int 130:102695
Tishler A, Milstein I (2009) R&D wars and the effects of innovation on the success and survivability of firms in oligopoly markets. Int J Ind Organ 27(4):519–531
Ullah A, Pinglu C, Ullah S, Qaisar ZH, Qian N (2022) The dynamic nexus of E-Government, and sustainable development: moderating role of multi-dimensional regional integration index in Belt and Road partner countries. Technol Soc 68:101903
Wang Y, Niu Y, Li M, Yu Q, Chen W (2022a) Spatial structure and carbon emission of urban agglomerations: spatiotemporal characteristics and driving forces. Sustain Cities Soc 78:103600
Wang Y, Yin S, Fang X, Chen W (2022b) Interaction of economic agglomeration, energy conservation and emission reduction: evidence from three major urban agglomerations in China. Energy 241:122519
Wen L, Lioudmila C, Gao X, Zhang A (2021) Reduction of carbon emissions through resource-saving and environment-friendly regional economic integration: evidence from Wuhan metropolitan area. China Technol Forecast Soc Change 166:120590
Wu Y, Li C, Shi K, Liu S, Chang Z (2022) Exploring the effect of urban sprawl on carbon dioxide emissions: an urban sprawl model analysis from remotely sensed nighttime light data. Environ Impact Assess Rev 93:106731
Xiao R, Tan G, Huang B, Li J, Luo Y (2022) Pathways to sustainable development: regional integration and carbon emissions in China. Energy Rep 8:5137–5145
Xu R, Xu B (2022) Exploring the effective way of reducing carbon intensity in the heavy industry using a semiparametric econometric approach. Energy 243:123066
Xu J, Zhang M, Zhou M, Li H (2017) An empirical study on the dynamic effect of regional industrial carbon transfer in China. Ecol Ind 73:1–10
Yan B, Wang F, Dong M, Ren J, Liu J, Shan J (2022) How do financial spatial structure and economic agglomeration affect carbon emission intensity? Theory extension and evidence from China. Econ Model 108:105745
Yang R, Che T, Lai F (2021) The impacts of production linkages on cross-regional collaborative innovations: the role of inter-regional network capital. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 170:120905
Yi F, Lee C, Peng D (2023) Does regional integration improve economic resilience? Evidence from urban agglomerations in China. Sustain Cities Soc 88:104273
Yu Q, Li M, Li Q, Wang Y, Chen W (2022) Economic agglomeration and emissions reduction: does high agglomeration in China’s urban clusters lead to higher carbon intensity? Urban Clim 43:101174
Yuan T, Huang G, Li Y, Zhai M, Liu Y (2023) Inequalities of PM2.5-related health impacts in the complicated regional trade networks. J Clean Prod 393:136360
Zeng X, Ma Y, Ren J, He B (2023) Assessing the network characteristics and structural effects of eco-efficiency: a case study in the urban agglomerations in the middle reaches of Yangtze River. China Ecol Indic 150:110169
Zhang B, Qiao H, Chen Z, Chen B (2016) Growth in embodied energy transfers via China’s domestic trade: evidence from multi-regional input–output analysis. Appl Energy 184:1093–1105
Zhang K, Shao S, Fan S (2020) Market integration and environmental quality: evidence from the Yangtze River Delta region of China. J Environ Manage 261:110208
Zhang W, Liu X, Wang D, Zhou J (2022) Digital economy and carbon emission performance: evidence at China’s city level. Energy Policy 165:112927
Zhao X, Fan L (2019) Spatial distribution characteristics and convergence of China’s regional energy intensity: an industrial transfer perspective. J Clean Prod 233:903–917
Zhao J, Zhu D, Cheng J, Jiang X, Lun F, Zhang Q (2021) Does regional economic integration promote urban land use efficiency? Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta. China Habitat Int 116:102404
Zheng S, Du R (2020) How does urban agglomeration integration promote entrepreneurship in China? Evidence from regional human capital spillovers and market integration. Cities 97:102529
Zhu B, Zhang T (2021) The impact of cross-region industrial structure optimization on economy, carbon emissions and energy consumption: a case of the Yangtze River Delta. Sci Total Environ 778:146089
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Key Projects of National Social Science Foundation of China (No.23AZD056) and the Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project of Shanghai (No.2023VZH035).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Lv, K., Fan, Y. & Cheng, Y. How does regional integration affect CO2 emission intensity? A natural experiment based on the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta, China. Ann Reg Sci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-024-01264-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-024-01264-3