The influence of technology improvements and the consistency of environmental and economic indicators on decoupling of greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth

Abstract

Decoupling analysis examines the “green growth” of regions by assessing the relationship between their economy and resource use from both production and consumption perspectives. However, the effects of technology disparity and the consistency between environmental and economic indicators on regional decoupling degree, especially from the consumption perspective, remain unclear. This study re-visited the decoupling processes in forty-four economies between 2005 and 2015. “Technology-adjusted consumption-based GHG emissions” (TCBEs), instead of conventional CBEs, were quantified for decoupling analysis to reveal the impacts of technology disparity on decoupling results from the consumption perspective. We also incorporated the supply chain-wide value added of economies' final demand for consumption-perspective decoupling analysis. Results showed that economies with lower GHG intensities or more substantial reductions in GHG intensities exhibited higher decoupling degree. In other words, these economies were fully “credited” for their efforts in improving local production efficiencies. We also argued that using gross domestic product (GDP) as the economic indicator for quantifying decoupling degree from CBEs did not align with the consistency between environmental pressures and economic activities causing those pressures. By ensuring the consistency, decoupling degrees increased by 2–52 % for TCBEs and 1–19 % for CBEs. Our study raised a discussion on more accurate assessments of regional decoupling processes and enhances our understanding of the impact of technology disparity on global emissions.