Spatial Differentiation of Carbon Emission Efficiency of “Silk Road Economic Belt” based on Environmental Regulation

Abstract

The construction of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” may bring about a new round of carbon emission growth, and the dual control of total energy consumption and intensity should be strengthened. In this study, the SE-SBM model considering undesirable output was adopted to measure the carbon emission effects of 9 core provinces and regions in the economic belt from 2006 to 2016, and the panel threshold model was adopted to estimate the carbon emission effect under environmental regulation. The results showed that the overall carbon emission efficiency in the economic belt showed a U-shaped trend, with provinces such as Sichuan and Chongqing showing higher efficiency, Gansu and Guangxi showing a larger decline. When the per capita GDP was <10700.01, environmental regulation showed a significant negative effect; when per capita GDP was >47192.96, environmental regulation showed a significant positive effect; energy structure and foreign direct investment had a significant negative effect; technological innovation had a significant positive effect; urbanization, industrialization and opening-up had not passed the significance test. China should adhere to green and low-carbon development, formulate appropriate environmental regulation intensity, select reasonable environmental policy tools, develop and utilize clean energy, guide FDI to low-carbon environmental friendly industries, and strengthen technological innovation and application transformation.