Abstract
Carbon emission efficiency, which is mainly affected by economic output, energy efficiency and energy structure, is the effect of carbon emissions generated in economic activities. Improving carbon emission efficiency and narrowing regional differences are very important for green development in Belt and Road Initiative regions with developing countries as the main body. The existing literature mostly uses the Theil index to study the temporal differences in carbon emission efficiency, but spatial differences and the reasons for the differences have rarely been examined. This paper measures the differences of carbon emission efficiency using the Theil index and examines the reasons based on the Logarithmic Mean Divisia index (LMDI) method in five groups of 60 Belt and Road Initiative countries. The results show that the Theil index of carbon emission efficiency in these countries is 0.196, with an intra-group difference of 0.165 and an inter-group difference of 0.031. Between most of the groups, energy efficiency is the dominant factor affecting carbon emission efficiency differences, especially between East Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, South Asia and East Asia. Between most of the countries with the highest and lowest carbon emission efficiency in the same group, such as Singapore and Vietnam in East Asia, energy efficiency is still the primary factor affecting the differences. Only some differences between a few groups, countries and sectors have been caused mainly by energy structures. Therefore, improving energy efficiency is the first way for those countries with low carbon emission efficiency to catch up other countries with high carbon emission efficiency, followed by improving the energy structure.
Highlights
Since the industrial revolution, economic development has led to a gradual deepening of human impact on the natural environment
The results demonstrate that the total Theil index of carbon emission efficiency in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries is 0.196, with an intra-group difference of 0.165 and an inter-group difference of 0.031
The results demonstrate that energy efficiency is the dominant factor affecting carbon emission efficiency differences between most groups, and only a few groups are mainly influenced by energy structure and GDP share differences
Summary
Economic development has led to a gradual deepening of human impact on the natural environment. Carbon emissions have become one of the crucial concerns of the world with the increasing global climate problems. Serbia did not join the European Union carbon emissions trading market [3]. More than 170 countries have participated in the BRI, and their economies and carbon emissions occupy an important position in the world, with a proportion of 30% and 16%, respectively [6]. Most of the BRI countries are developing countries that are under double pressure to promote economies and reduce carbon emissions [7]. Due to the huge discrepancy in economic development and energy consumption among BRI countries, there is a huge difference in carbon emission efficiency, which is not conducive to building a green community [8]
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