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Exploring the energy consumption rebound effect of industrial enterprises in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region

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Abstract

High energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) requirements across industries in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region have been proposed along with the transformation of China’s economic development mode. However, the energy consumption rebound effect, as an important proxy for achieving sustainable low-carbon development, has not been adequately investigated across industrial enterprises in this area. This study adopts an alternative estimation model based on neoclassical economic theory to measure the energy rebound effect of industrial enterprises in the BTH region from 1996 to 2015. Four main results are obtained. First, the energy rebound effects in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei are significantly different in the temporal and spatial dimensions. Second, technological progress does not reduce energy consumption, and the local government must simultaneously consider technological progress, industrial structure, and policy formulation to achieve the ECER goals. Third, ECER policies combined with government administrative measures do not have an impact on reducing energy consumption. Fourth, in the process of implementing the integration development of the BTH region, Hebei faces greater pressure to attain ECER goals in the future than the other regions. This study provides suggestions based on these derived results from the perspectives of market-oriented measures, management factors, development mode, and regional cooperation to achieve the sustainable development of the BTH region.

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Notes

  1. Climate change is a major global issue of universal concern to all countries. China, as a responsible developing country, gives a high priority to climate change issues and promulgated the National Climate Change Program in 2007 according to the requirements of the national sustainable development strategy. The contents of the National Climate Change Program can be found on the China Central Government website (http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2007-06/08/content_641704.htm.)

  2. On April 30, 2015, the Chinese government promulgated the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Synergy Development Program Outline. The outline indicates that promoting the coordinated development of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei is a major national strategy. The core of the coordinated development of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei is to systematically dismantle the functions of Beijing’s non-capital. The goal of such coordinated development is to take the lead in breakthroughs in key areas, such as Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei’s transportation integration, ecological environmental protection, and industrial upgrading (Den et al. 2015).

  3. This study uses the net value added of the fixed assets to represent the annual investment (i.e., the annual investment in the current period = the fixed assets in the current period − the fixed assets in the previous period)

  4. In the Ramsey RESET test, the null hypothesis refers to the fact that the OLS regression model does not have a functional form misspecification

  5. China’s five-year plans are a series of social and economic development plans issued since 1953. The five-year plans have important positions in China, and the proposed goals have major influences on the development of Chinese society and are decisive for the development of China’s economy

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Acknowledgments

The authors are much indebted to Professor Yi-Ming Wei for his constructive suggestions provided at the seminar in Beijing Institute of Technology.

Funding

This research is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under the grant nos. 71501139, 91746110, 71372019, 91746208, 71521002, and 71642004; the National Science Fund of China for Distinguished Young Scholars under the grant no. 71625003; the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program); the Special Items Fund of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education; Natural Science Funds of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20150307).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Guo Li & Zhaohua Wang

  2. Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Guo Li & Zhaohua Wang

  3. Sustainable Development Research Institute for Economy and Society of Beijing, Beijing, 100081, China

    Guo Li & Zhaohua Wang

  4. Research Center for Smarter Supply Chain, School of Business, Soochow University, Suzhou, China

    Jiasen Sun

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  1. Guo Li
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Correspondence to Jiasen Sun.

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Li, G., Sun, J. & Wang, Z. Exploring the energy consumption rebound effect of industrial enterprises in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Energy Efficiency 12, 1007–1026 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-018-9743-4

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