Research on coupling degree and coupling path between China’s carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure upgrading

Zhou, Di; Zhang, Xiaoru; Wang, Xueqin

doi:10.1007/s11356-020-08993-w

Research Article
Published: 28 April 2020

Research on coupling degree and coupling path between China’s carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure upgrading

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 27, pages 25149–25162 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

To coordinate economic development and carbon emission reduction targets, China needs to improve carbon emission efficiency and upgrade the industrial structure. Therefore, it is important to study the coupling degree and coupling path between these two factors in various provinces in China, and thereby promote the development of China’s low-carbon economy. We first calculate carbon emission efficiency using the Super-SBM model, then analyze an extended coupling model between carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure upgrading, and finally design the coupling paths using the framework of distribution dynamics. There are three main findings. First, the coupling degree of nearly half the provinces is at the level of mild-to-moderate imbalance recession. And in terms of specific coupling characteristics, nearly half the provinces belong to the type “low-level coordination,” with a low development degree and high coordination degree. Second, there is an obvious dynamic imbalance between China’s carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure upgrading, and the “low-level trap” of regional carbon emission efficiency is more serious than that of regional industrial structure upgrading. Finally, if the government prioritizes provinces with low carbon emission efficiency, carbon emission efficiency and the coupling efficiency with industrial structure can be improved, which would not only improve the coupling degree within each region but also alleviate the disharmony between regions.

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Abbreviations

EKC:: Environmental Kuznets curve
SDA:: Structural decomposition analysis method
LMDI:: Logarithmic mean Divisia index
PSM–DID:: Propensity score matching–difference in difference
SBM:: Slacks-based measure model
DEA:: Data envelopment analysis model

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Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial supports by the project “Study on the Potential and Path of Industrial Carbon Emission Reduction in Guangdong Province from the Perspective of Equity and Efficiency Coordination” of The PhD Start-up Fund of Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, China, under Grant numbers 2018A030310044.

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School of Mathematics and Statistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
Di Zhou
School of Economics and Trade, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
Xiaoru Zhang
School of Information Science and Technology, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
Xueqin Wang

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Correspondence to Xueqin Wang.

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Zhou, D., Zhang, X. & Wang, X. Research on coupling degree and coupling path between China’s carbon emission efficiency and industrial structure upgrading. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 25149–25162 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08993-w

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Received: 12 October 2019
Accepted: 22 April 2020
Published: 28 April 2020
Issue Date: July 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08993-w

Keywords

Carbon emission efficiency
Upgrading industrial structure
Coupling coordination degree model (CCDM)
Cure
Coupling path