Research on the Optimal Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Path for Promoting High-Quality Industrial Development in Hubei Province

Abstract

In December 2019, a novel coronavirus broke out in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, and, as the center of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic, the economy and production throughout Hubei Province suffered huge temporary impacts. Based on the input–output and industrial pollution emissions data of 33 industrial industries in Hubei from 2010 to 2019, this article uses the non-parametric frontier analysis method to calculate the potential production losses and compliance costs caused by environmental regulations in Hubei’s industrial sector by year and industry. Research has found that the environmental technology efficiency of the industrial sector in Hubei is showing a trend of increasing year-on-year, but the overall efficiency level is still not high, and there is great room for improvement. The calculation results with and without environmental regulatory constraints indicate that, generally, production losses and compliance costs may be encountered in the industrial sector in Hubei, and there are significant differences by industry. The potential production losses and compliance costs in pollution-intensive industries are higher than those in clean production industries. On this basis, we propose relevant policy recommendations to improve the technological efficiency of Hubei’s industrial environment, in order to promote the high-quality development of Hubei’s industry in the post-epidemic era.