Can new-type urbanization reduce urban building carbon emissions? New evidence from China

Abstract

Aiming to seek for the key factors of urban building carbon emissions under the background of new-type urbanization, this study attempts to establish an integrated analysis framework to explore the impact of new-type urbanization on urban building carbon emissions from scale, average and structure dimensions, the carbon emission coefficient method and panel data model were adopted to analysis the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2009 to 2020. Spatial characteristics indicate that the internal difference of urban building carbon emissions is insignificant in northwest and significant in southeast of China. The empirical results indicated that the new-type urbanization construction has reduced urban building carbon emissions, but there was still a significant carbon emission effect from the dimensions of scale, average, and structure. Industrial upgrading and urban green space have a significant positive effect on urban building carbon emissions reduction, but the added value of the tertiary industry still has a significant carbon emission effect. Additionally, urbanization rate, population density, and total population have increased urban building carbon emissions under the new-type urbanization construction. This study provides a deeper perception for the policy design of carbon emission reduction based on the background of new-type urbanization.