Abstract
Using panel data of 30 provinces and regions in Mainland China (excluding Tibet) from 2006 to 2016, the Spatial Durbin Model was employed for the empirical research, and the spatial impact of fiscal decentralization and environmental decentralization on regional carbon emissions were analyzed from the perspective of promotion pressure of officials. The empirical study concludes: ① Fiscal decentralization, both within the region and in its neighborhood, will contribute to carbon emissions in the region; ② Environmental decentralization will help reduce carbon emissions, while environmental decentralization in neighboring regions will increase carbon emissions in the region; ③ The promotion pressure of officials plays a positive role in moderating the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions, and at the same time weakens the suppression of carbon emissions by environmental decentralization; ④ From a regional point of view, there is a positive relationship between fiscal decentralization and carbon emissions in various regions; but environmental decentralization has obvious spatial heterogeneity. The research suggests that reducing the degree of local fiscal decentralization, investment in major infrastructure projects involving high carbon emissions should be relatively centralized; appropriately increase the environmental management authority of local environmental protection agencies, fully use the advantages of local environmental protection departments to protect the environment according to local conditions; gradually improve the assessment system for local officials, moderately reduce the proportion of fiscal revenue and GDP assessment in areas with fragile ecological environment, and increase incentives for ecological performance assessment, put the development of low-carbon economy into practice.
Highlights
As the largest industrial producing country in the world, Chinese industrial production will lead to high carbon emissions, and coal consumption is the main source of carbon emissions, while the energy resources of China are precisely characterized as “coal-rich, oil-poor and gas-lean”
“The First Law of Geography” states that “everything is related to everything else, but things closer together are more related than things farther away”, so we have to consider the spatial correlation among regions when studying carbon emissions
This article used the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions in Mainland China from 2006–2016 to conduct an empirical study, using a spatial Durbin model to analyze the spatial impact of fiscal decentralization and environmental decentralization on regional carbon emissions based on the perspective of officials’ promotion pressure
Summary
As the largest industrial producing country in the world, Chinese industrial production will lead to high carbon emissions, and coal consumption is the main source of carbon emissions, while the energy resources of China are precisely characterized as “coal-rich, oil-poor and gas-lean”. According to public data from the “Global Carbon Atlas”, China accounted for 27.5% of global carbon emissions in 2018 [1], making it the most affected country in terms of global air pollution. In order to accelerate green and low-carbon development, the State Council issued the “13th Five-Year Plan for Controlling Greenhouse Gas Emissions” in 2016 to push China’s carbon emissions reach to the peak point around 2030 as fast as possible. Country in terms of global air pollution. In order to accelerate green and low-carbon development, the State
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