Illuminating the efficiency of CO2 emissions in China's mining sector: evidence from meta-frontier Malmquist index models.

Abstract

CO2 emission reduction has become a binding target in China's economic and social development. The mining industry is China's primary energy consumer and therefore has an important influence on China's CO2 emissions. Herein, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of data from the Chinese mining industry between 2004 and 2015. And we employ meta-frontier data envelopment analysis to analyse the CO2 emission efficiency of the Chinese mining industry and identify the driving factors that influence the observed dynamic changes in CO2 emission efficiency. The main practical conclusions of our research are as follows: (1) the CO2 emission efficiency of China's mining industry had grown continuously during the study period; (2) during the study period, the CO2 emission efficiency of China's mining industry did not change consistently with changes in different geographical regions; (3) the overall efficiency of management in China's mining sector was low; (4) the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China's mining sector played a significant role in the improvement of the CO2 emission efficiency. The empirical results provide constructive policy implications that should be considered by the policy makers for the more sustainable development of China's mining sector.