Spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and spillover effects of carbon emissions from public building in China: The tertiary industry perspective

Abstract

To explore the influence of tertiary industry development on carbon emissions from public buildings, we analyzed the spatial and temporal evolution of carbon emissions from public buildings in China during 2010–2020 using standard deviation ellipse and spatial autocorrelation analyses. The spatial spillover effects of carbon emissions from public buildings under the tertiary industry in each region were further examined using an empirical model. We found that (1) carbon emissions from public buildings in China were concentrated in Henan, with a northeast-southwest distribution. The overall spatial agglomeration effect of carbon emissions from public buildings showed an inverted U-shaped pattern of development, with “low-low aggregation” as the primary agglomeration mode in the local effect; (2) the structural transformation of the tertiary industry had a significant spatial effect on carbon emissions from public buildings, and the structural transformation of the tertiary industry in this region and neighboring regions may limit the increase in carbon emissions from public buildings in this region; (3) carbon emissions and the intensity of carbon emissions from public buildings decreased with the structural transformation of the tertiary industry. The mediating effect of the structural transformation of the tertiary industry on carbon emissions from public buildings was significant. These findings reveal the correlation between China's tertiary industry development and carbon emissions from public buildings, providing a foundation for the implementation of approaches to reduce carbon emissions from public buildings.