Decomposition analysis for assessing the progress in decoupling relationship between coal consumption and economic growth in China

Abstract

This paper has four purposes. Firstly, the status of coal production and consumption is analyzed. Secondly, the temporal and spatial evolution of the coal consumption in China is studied. Furthermore, the LMDI method is used to explore the factors influencing coal consumption in China. Finally, a new decoupling index is developed based on the decomposition results, which is used to study the decoupling relationship between coal consumption and economic growth in China. This paper draws the following results: (1) Coal for transformation consumption gradually exceeded that for end-use over the study period. During 1991–2013, power generation was the biggest coal consumer among all transformation sectors. Among all end-use sectors, industry sector was the biggest coal consumer. (2) In 1991, Liaoning province was the biggest coal consumer. However, the biggest coal consumer was Shandong in 2013. The center of gravity for coal consumption was an overall movement towards the southwest. (3) The energy intensity effect played the dominant role in decreasing coal consumption over the study period. However, The economic activity effect and population effect maked the continual increase of coal consumption in China. (4) Only three decoupling statuses occurred over the study period: weak decoupling, expansive coupling, and expansive negative decoupling.