Impact of Urbanization and Industrial Structure on Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Huaihe River Eco-Economic Zone

Qinghua Pang,Lina Zhang,Weimo Zhou,Tianxin Zhao

doi:10.3390/land10111130

Abstract

Rapid urbanization in China greatly contributes to carbon emissions, while the industrial structure greatly contributes to changes in the variation of carbon emissions. This research addresses the impact of urbanization and industrial structure on carbon emissions from 2010 to 2018, by focusing on the Huaihe River Eco-economic Zone, which is an important economic corridor along the north–south division of China. Although many studies have focused on investigating the impact of urbanization or industrial structure on carbon emissions, few studies further addressed an analysis of the impact of both on carbon emissions, using multiple measurement models. This paper reveals the holistic and local impact of industrial structure and urbanization on carbon emissions, by integrating a threshold regression model with geographically weighted regression. The results are as follows: (1) From a holistic point of view, industrial structure and urbanization had both, single threshold, and double threshold effects on carbon emissions in the Huaihe River Eco-economic Zone. (2) From a regional perspective, the coefficients of industrial structure on carbon emissions were all positive, but the rate of increase gradually slowed down. The coefficients of urbanization on carbon emissions were all negative, reaching a maximum value of negative effect in 2013. Understanding the holistic and local impact of urbanization and industrial structure on carbon emissions provides governments with differentiated and forward-looking suggestions for mitigating carbon emissions in the Huaihe River Eco-economic Zone.

Highlights

The increase in carbon emissions has become a serious social problem, because it hinders the development of society and the global economy [1]
This paper explores the holistic and local impact of industrial structure and urbanization on the carbon emissions of the Huaihe River Eco-economic Zone (HREZ) from 2010 to 2018
The p-value of urbanization, industrial structure, energy intensity, and energy consumption structure were ≤1% or lower, and the p-value of GDP per capita was 0.028

Summary

Introduction

The increase in carbon emissions has become a serious social problem, because it hinders the development of society and the global economy [1]. According to the World Bank, China’s carbon emissions have exceeded the sum of the European Union and the United States; the three territories with the highest carbon emissions in the world [2]. Their total carbon emissions accounted for more than half of the world. China’s carbon emissions reached 9.429 Gt in 2018, accounting for 27.8% of global carbon emissions [3]. As the largest developing country and the largest carbon emitter, China strives to achieve its promise to reach the peak of its total carbon dioxide emissions around 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060 [4]

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Methods

Conclusion