Abstract
Industry is a major contributor to carbon emissions in China, and industrial land is an important input to industrial production. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the carbon emission performance of industrial land use is necessary for making reasonable carbon reduction policies that promote the sustainable use of industrial land. This paper aims to analyze the dynamic changes in the total-factor carbon emission performance of industrial land use (TCPIL) in China by applying a global directional distance function (DDF) and non-radial Luenberger productivity index. The empirical results show that the eastern region enjoys better TCPIL than the central and western regions, but the regional gaps in TCPIL are narrowing. The growth in NLCPILs (non-radial Luenberger carbon emission performance of industrial land use) in the eastern and central regions is mainly driven by technological progress, whereas efficiency improvements contribute more to the growth of NLCPIL in the western region. The provinces in the eastern region have the most innovative and environmentally-friendly production technologies. The results of the analysis of the influencing factors show implications for improving the NLCPIL, including more investment in industrial research and development (R&D), the implementation of carbon emission reduction policies, reduction in the use of fossil energy, especially coal, in the process of industrial production, actively learning about foreign advanced technology, properly solving the problem of surplus labor in industry and the expansion of industrial development.
Highlights
China’s industrial economy has achieved remarkable progress since its reform and opening up in the late 1970s
We calculate the NLCPIL and its decomposition indices to measure the dynamic changes in TCPIL at the national and regional levels
China has become the world’s largest energy consumer and carbon emitter, and industrial production is the primary contributor to carbon emissions
Summary
China’s industrial economy has achieved remarkable progress since its reform and opening up in the late 1970s. Coal consumption accounts for the main part of the fossil energy consumption in China and releases more harmful gases (e.g., carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide) compared to some types of clean energy (e.g., nuclear and wind power) for the same given amount [3]. China became the largest energy consumer and carbon emitter in the world prior to 2010 [4], which indicate that China must face considerable pressure to promote energy-saving and low carbon industrial production. The famous Kyoto Protocol does not give China a mandatory carbon emissions reduction task, as a responsible country that has been trying to achieve sustainable development for a long time, China should pay more attention to optimizing its energy structure and effectively reducing its carbon emissions [5]
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