Energy Consumption Structure Research Articles

Evaluating the impact of the innovation efficiency of high-tech industry on carbon emissions: a case study of the manufacturing industry in China.

Amid China's economic shift to high-quality development, addressing environmental challenges like greenhouse gas emissions and manufacturing pollution, there is a crucial demand for sustainable and eco-friendly development strategies. This study aims to investigate the impact of innovation efficiency in the high-tech industry on carbon emissions. It seeks to explore regional differences, mechanisms, and the influence of energy consumption structures in achieving sustainable development goals. Utilizing data from 30 provinces spanning 2009 to 2020, the study employs the DEA-Malmquist index model, spatial and temporal classification evaluation, and a panel measurement model to assess the efficiency of innovation and development in high-tech industries and their relationship with carbon emissions. The results indicate several key findings: (1) The overall operational efficiency of high-tech industry innovation and development in China is steadily increasing. However, there are distinct characteristics observed among provinces and cities, reflecting diverse input and output types. (2) High-tech industry innovation efficiency significantly contributes to carbon emission reduction, and there is regional heterogeneity in this impact. The central and western regions exhibit greater effects compared to other provinces and cities. (3) The optimization of the energy structure is identified as a mechanism through which high-tech industry innovation efficiency reduces carbon emissions. Moreover, different intervals of high-tech industry innovation efficiency yield varying effects on carbon emissions. This research underscores the importance of fostering high-tech industry innovation efficiency as a means to reduce carbon emissions. It also identifies key areas for future policy development and resource allocation, emphasizing the support needed for low-carbon technology research and development.

Estimation and Analysis of Carbon Emission Efficiency in Chinese Industry and Its Influencing Factors—Evidence from the Micro Level

A major goal of the “14th Five-Year Plan” phase is to promote the green transformation of industrial enterprises to address the ‘dual carbon’ challenge. Utilizing the China Industrial Enterprises Database and the Polluting Enterprises Database, this paper calculates the carbon emissions of Chinese industrial enterprises from 2001 to 2010 at the micro level. It presents an analysis of the heterogeneity of carbon emission efficiency (TPI) in industrial enterprises, as well as the factors influencing corporate TPI. This study finds that enterprises within a subdivided industry exhibit heterogeneous levels of TPI, with carbon emissions largely affected by the structure of energy consumption. The researchers suggest accelerating the transition of industrial enterprises to green technology and argue that carbon emission policies should shift from controlling direct total targets to strengthening market-oriented policy tools. Carbon reduction targets should be more stringent for enterprises with lower TPI, considering the heterogeneity among enterprises. To meet the challenges of emission reduction, industrial enterprises are encouraged to actively reform their energy consumption structure. Government policies should aim to reduce clean energy costs and encourage the use of clean energy by industrial enterprises.

Simulation of emission reduction path under the path of differentiated energy transformation in China's industrial cities: a case study of Shanghai.

The formulation of long-term step-by-step emission reduction plan is an important step for effective scientific emission reduction. This paper takes Shanghai as the research object, constructs PSO-LSTM model on the basis of STIRPAT model, and further constructs three dynamic policy scenarios combined with China's actual situation and makes short-, medium-, and long-term multivariate predictions for them. The study finds that only the improvement of energy consumption structure has a promotion effect on carbon emission reduction, and urbanization, industrial structure, technology level, population, and economic level all have an increasing effect, and secondly, the carbon emission reduction path of Shanghai basically achieves the core objective of steady decrease under the three scenarios. Secondly, under the three scenarios, Shanghai's carbon emission reduction path basically achieves the core objective of steady decline, but the decline in the GU scenario is more significant. It is recommended that Shanghai further adjusts its industrial structure, optimizes its energy consumption structure, promotes technological innovation and progress, and promotes the development of the circular economy model.

The Status Quo, Dilemma, and Transformation Path of the Carbon Neutrality-Related Policy of the ASEAN

After joining the globalization initiative, countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have experienced an exponential growth in carbon emissions. The high carbon lock-in of the energy consumption structure and lagged energy infrastructure construction have led to high carbon emissions, which has put great pressure on ASEAN countries to reduce their carbon emissions. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by the middle of this century, ASEAN countries have successively formulated strategic guidelines for energy transformation and green development, focusing on the structural transformation of energy development and utilization, a coal decommissioning plan, grid interconnection, the electrification of urban transportation patterns, energy conservation, consumption reduction, and international technological cooperation. ASEAN countries still face many challenges in achieving their carbon neutrality targets, including unstable policies, poor environmental awareness among residents, poor guarantee for energy transformation, disconnection between technology and capital, and difficulties in regional coordination. These are reflected in the obvious carbon lock-in effect and the strong dependence on carbon in traditional industries. ASEAN countries are seeking a balance of interests in the Sino–US infrastructure game. In this context, China, as an advocate of South–South cooperation, is committed to expanding the cooperation with ASEAN countries on carbon neutrality in the following aspects: the development and utilization of renewable energy resources, formulation of a progressive grid interconnection plan, establishment of the green financial system, and research and development of green technologies. The purpose is to help ASEAN countries achieve their goals of carbon neutrality.

Study on the spillover effect of digital economy development on CO2 emissions

To study the spillover effect of the digital economy development on carbon emissions, this study innovatively constructs different spatial weight matrices, based on 2011–2020 panel data covering 30 Chinese provinces, and it explores the direct spillovers, conducted spillovers, and spillovers from different spillover channels, such as human capital, service industry development, and information development of digital economy development on carbon emissions through the spatial Durbin model combined with a mediating effect model. The results show that there is significant spatial heterogeneity in digital economy development; in terms of regions, the eastern region has the highest average development level and the central region has the highest average annual growth rate. Digital economy development can directly suppress carbon emissions, and it can also indirectly suppress carbon emissions by driving technological innovation and optimizing the energy consumption structure, and there exists a spatial spillover effect. Under human capital, service industry development and information development matrices, the spatial spillover effect of digital economy development on carbon emissions is significantly negative. Regions with the same level of information development are more likely to exert a spatial spillover effect of digital economy development on carbon emissions.

How does the opening of high-speed rail drive energy restructuring? New micro evidence from China

Against the dual backdrop of China vigorously promoting high-speed railways (HSR) construction and establishing an ecological civilization system, HSR as urban transportation infrastructure, is currently gaining growing attention from the academic community due to its environmental benefits as well as its effects in energy conservation and emission reduction. In this context, this research treats the initiation of HSR as a quasi-natural experiment, meanwhile empirically examining the effect of HSR on energy structure restructuring and exploring the micro-level channels through which it operates. The empirical results validate the reduction effect of HSR opening on fuel energy consumption of industrial enterprises, especially the usage of fuel coal. This highlight remains valid across a series of robustness tests. Moreover, it is evident that the “driving effect” of enterprise technological innovation capability and the “industrial upgrading effect” of enterprise relocation are effective transmission pathways in the process of HSR opening influencing the adjustment of energy consumption structure. Moreover, the unique characteristics of enterprise, industry, and region introduce a certain degree of heterogeneity. The low-energy-consumption effect of HSR is more pronounced in high-carbon industry enterprises, technology-intensive enterprises, firms engaged in innovation pilot cities, small to the medium-sized city and resource-based city. This paper provides a new perspective on energy structure adjustment, contributing to offering solid experiences and references for environmental governance in China and other emerging economies.

Technological innovation and its influence on energy risk management: Unpacking China’s energy consumption structure optimisation amidst climate change

In the context of intensifying climate challenges, adept energy risk management is more pertinent than ever. This research pioneers an in-depth exploration into China’s pronounced reliance on high-polluting fossil fuels, utilising a decade’s worth of provincial data (2010–2020) to shed light on the intricate dynamics between technological innovation and energy consumption structure refinement. Notably, our findings unveil that technological advancements act as catalysts in streamlining energy consumption structures, serving as a bulwark against emergent climate-related risks. Yet, this positive trajectory is not immune to disruptions: volatility in crude oil futures prices has the potential to dampen these benefits, ushering in heightened financial risks. Our work further underscores pronounced regional variances; technological innovation yields diminished returns in the central and western regions compared to their eastern counterparts. An intriguing observation is the resilience exhibited by coal-dependent provinces to technological evolution, pointing towards entrenched energy infrastructure challenges. Crucially, this study is among the first to identify the dual roles of industrial structure evolution and energy pricing dynamics as mediators in energy risk management. Drawing from these insights, we advocate for a proactive harnessing of technological innovation, not merely as a tool, but as an imperative to drive China’s energy transformation, foster sustainable consumption, and lay the foundation for a fortified green and low-carbon technological ecosystem.

Study on the Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Effect of Electric City Construction

Based on the data of China's prefecture-level city statistical yearbooks and environmental yearbooks from 2003 to 2018, the energy-saving and emission reduction effects of China's e-commerce model city construction are analysed using the multi-period double-difference method. It is found that the construction of national e-commerce model cities significantly reduces environmental pollution and energy consumption and significantly improves the structure of energy consumption, and that this effect is influenced by factors such as the level of marketisation, the degree of environmental regulation and the degree of informatisation. The estimation results of the mediated effect model show that the construction of national e-commerce demonstration cities promotes energy conservation and emission reduction mainly through the channel of industrial structure transformation and upgrading. The relevant policy implication is that the establishment of national e-commerce model cities is another important way to promote energy conservation and emission reduction, which helps to improve the quality of the ecological environment, reduce environmental risks, improve the level of ecological civilisation and develop a green economy.

Interactions Among Energy Consumption per GDP, Technological Innovation Input and Energy Consumption Structure in China During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

In the context of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, this paper examines the complex interactions between energy utilization efficiency, technological advancement, and energy-consuming structure. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition are used to thoroughly analyze time series data extending from 1999 to 2022 to reveal the dynamic relationships and effect mechanisms among these variables. The results show that the multidimensional adjustment of energy use has been driven in large part by technological innovation. In the short term, the improvement in energy utilization efficiency is predominantly propelled by its inherent inertia, while technological innovation gradually becomes the primary driving force. The positive impact of technological innovation input enhances energy utilization efficiency, while improved energy utilization efficiency stimulates later-stage technological innovation investment. Furthermore, a shift towards reduced GDP energy intensity is essential, focusing on controlling fossil fuel usage while advancing non-fossil energy sources. It underscores the significance of optimizing traditional fossil fuel utilization and gradually transitioning to clean energy sources for sustained and efficient energy-consuming patterns.

A Study on the Measurement of Regional Energy Consumption Efficiency and Decomposition of Its Influencing Factors in China: New Evidence for Achieving SDGs

With the growth of global population and economic development, people are facing the problem of increasing scarcity of renewable energy and unsustainable energy use. To achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations, research on energy consumption efficiency has become particularly important. This research evaluates the energy consumption efficiency of 270 cities in China through an improved EBM model and finds a common phenomenon of low energy consumption efficiency in the cities, with the highest efficiency in northeast China and the lowest efficiency in eastern China. In addition, the efficiency of industrial exhaust emissions most significantly positively correlates with the efficiency of employed population and total energy consumption efficiency, while the efficiency of regional GDP does not significantly correlate with the efficiency of the two input variables. Using the LMDI method to decompose the driving factors of energy consumption efficiency in the cities, we find that the most important factor affecting energy consumption efficiency is their own energy endowment. Therefore, to improve the energy consumption efficiency of its cities, the China government should comprehensively consider factors such as regional economic development level, industrial structure, and technological level differences, formulate relevant energy-saving and emission-reduction policies, focus on optimizing the energy consumption structure, encourage technological progress and innovation, and help increase investment in science and technology.

Collaborative research on rural distributed photovoltaic development and new energy vehicles moving to the countryside under the background of dual carbon

In the context of dual carbon, there is a synergistic effect between the development of rural distributed photovoltaics and the introduction of new energy vehicles to the countryside. The synergistic development of the two is of great significance for promoting sustainable development and energy transformation. This paper aims to study how the coordinated development of rural distributed photovoltaic and new energy vehicles in the countryside can produce efficiency, what kind of efficiency it can produce under the background of dual carbon, and explore its collaborative development strategy. Based on the background environment of green development, this paper discusses the current situation, significance, policy effect, and difficulties of the collaborative development of rural distributed photovoltaic development and new energy vehicles in the countryside. On this basis, it analyzes the efficiency and mechanism of its collaborative development. The conclusion indicates that, under the dual carbon background, the development of distributed photovoltaics in rural areas and the deployment of new energy vehicles to rural areas are full of opportunities and challenges. The synergistic development of the two has the synergistic effects of sharing clean energy, complementary energy conservation and emission reduction, optimizing energy consumption structures, promoting economic development, increasing employment opportunities, and improving rural living quality. It is of great significance for achieving the dual-carbon goal. This article provides a reference for the development of distributed photovoltaics in rural areas and the coordinated development of new energy vehicles in rural areas under a dual-carbon background and has certain practical and theoretical significance.

The impact of energy consumption on carbon emissions intensity in China: evidence from a dynamic panel quantile regression model

Abstract China, being the largest global emitter of carbon, faces significant challenges in mitigating carbon emissions from energy consumption. The empirical findings reveal that the impact of energy consumption intensity and energy consumption structure on carbon emissions intensity is positively correlated with quantile levels and shows heterogeneous effects in different regions. Employing an energy consumption structure as a threshold variable to examine the impact of energy consumption intensity on carbon emissions intensity, we identify a significant single threshold effect in both the full sample and the western sample. Based on empirical research findings, this paper proposes specific policy recommendations.

Research on Regional Industrial Layout and Structural Adjustment and Upgrading under Digital Economy

Digital transformation promotes the change of urban governance. Based on the concept of "system", this paper focuses on exploring the influencing factors and evaluation indicators of the industrial structure adjustment and energy production and consumption structure adjustment of green smart cities in the new era under the promotion of digital economy, providing a strong theoretical basis for the comprehensive evaluation of the influencing factors in the later period.

In-situ torrefaction-densification approach for pelletizing of rice hull/rice stalk and the combustion behavior analysis

The utilization of biomass resources could optimize the energy consumption structure and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Torrefaction and densification pretreatment could improve the defects of high oxygen content, low energy density, and low bulk density of biomass. In this work, high-density and hardness pellets were prepared by torrefaction coupling densification (in-situ torrefaction-densification without binders). In-situ torrefaction-densification significantly reduced the pressure required for the densification process. In-situ torrefaction-densification lowered the pressure required to prepare RH pellets with a bulk density of 1000 kg/m3 from 88.23 MPa to 30.95 MPa. The effects of the in-situ torrefaction-densification method and pelletizing pressure on the pellet combustion process were investigated by non-isothermal and isothermal combustion. The volatile and carbon of TCDP could be burned intensively during combustion, and the emissions of CO and CxHy were reduced during combustion. The original structural strength of TCDP was still maintained in the combustion process. The alkali metal K in TCDP was difficult to escape, effectively reducing the emission of K in the flue gas. In-situ torrefaction-densification could not only improve the quality of biomass solid fuel but also facilitate the storage and transportation of biomass solid fuel.

Research on the impact and intermediary effect of carbon emission trading policy on carbon emission efficiency in China

In this paper, the impact of the carbon emission trading policy on carbon emission efficiency is discussed based on the local data of China from 2004 to 2019, based on the natural experiment of carbon emission trading policy. The intermediary model is introduced to analyze the mediating effect of industrial structure and energy consumption structure in emission reduction. The results show that the carbon emission trading policy not only directly improves the carbon emission efficiency, but also indirectly improves the carbon emission efficiency by upgrading the industrial structure and adjusting the energy consumption structure. Finally, this paper verifies that carbon trading policy has a synergistic emission reduction effect on sulfur emission efficiency. The mechanism of the SO2 reduction is similar to that of the CO2 reduction mechanism, with direct and intermediary effects.

How Does Market-Oriented Environmental Regulation Affect Carbon Emission Performance? A Quasinatural Experiment Based on the Pilot Policy of Energy-Use Rights Trading

In order to evaluate the effect of market-oriented environmental management measures on regional carbon emission intensity in the pilot areas better, this paper adopts a quasinatural experiment of energy-use rights trading (EURT) policy by using the difference-in-difference method from the perspective of cities in China from 2006 to 2019. The results show that the policy of EURT can significantly reduce regional carbon emission intensity, which varies in different regions and different scales of cities. The main goal of implementing the policy is to reduce regional carbon emission intensity by improving the energy consumption structure and promoting the improvement of industrial structure and green innovation. In addition, the spatial impact of the EURT pilot project is demonstrated by its ability to not only reduce local carbon emission intensity but also decrease carbon intensity in and around the designated areas.

Reexamining the impact of natural resource rent and corruption control on environmental quality: Evidence from carbon emissions and ecological footprint in 152 countries

AbstractIn order to explore the impact of natural resource rent and corruption control on environmental quality (ecological footprint, carbon emissions), this paper uses the moment quantile regression method within the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Based on the availability of data, the research object is positioned as the sample data of 152 countries from 2002 to 2018 to obtain more in‐depth and comprehensive research conclusions. The empirical results show that: (1) Corruption control has a significant effect on improving the ecological environment in countries and regions with poor environmental quality. The impact of natural resource rent on environmental quality remains inconclusive, when environmental quality is relatively high, natural resource rent tends to promote the increase of carbon emissions, but there is a reduction effect on the ecological footprint. For countries and regions with better environmental quality, there will be an effect of increasing resource consumption and reducing pollutant emissions. (2) Increasing the consumption intensity of energy will lead to the deterioration of environmental quality, and increasing the proportion of renewable resources will increase and weaken this impact, so it is particularly important to improve the energy consumption structure and improve environmental quality. (3) The impact of urbanization on environmental quality dose not form a unified opinion, and the difference in the selection of environmental quality indicators brings variability to the results, which also prompts the adoption of multiple indicators or the establishment of a composite index that covers multiple perspectives of environmental quality to conduct comprehensive and in‐depth research on environmental quality.

Environmental regulations, technological innovation, and low carbon transformation: A case of the logistics industry in China

China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide. The logistics industry is the second largest source of CO2 emissions, second only to the manufacturing industry. Therefore, developing effective environmental regulations to achieve low-carbon transformation in the logistics industry is an urgent task for government managers. Based on the 2005–2021 panel data of China's 30 provinces, this article adopts a data-driven nonparametric additive model to investigate the role of environmental regulations in CO2 emission reduction in the logistics industry. The results display that overall, environmental regulations contribute to carbon reduction in the logistics industry (an inverted N-shaped effect). After endogeneity test and various robustness tests such as replacing the variable value of core variable, this conclusion still has good reliability. Further heterogeneity analysis indicates that the carbon reduction effect of mandatory environmental regulations fluctuates frequently (a W-shaped impact). However, the carbon reduction impact of incentive environmental regulations has gradually shifted from insignificant in the early stages to prominent in the later stages (an inverted U-shaped pattern). Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of environmental regulations on carbon reduction in the eastern, central, and western regions also has significant nonlinear characteristics. Finally, this article verifies that technological innovation and energy consumption structure are effective intermediate mechanisms for environmental regulations to affect emission reduction. The research findings provide practical inspiration for the government to formulate relevant environmental policies and promote the green development of the logistics industry.

Simulation of fishery energy consumption and carbon emissions in Zhoushan City based on the long-range energy alternatives planning system model

To understand the current situation and development trend of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the fishery industry, a Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP)-fishery model for Zhoushan City was constructed, and the trends of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the Zhoushan City fishery industry were analyzed under the business-as-usual scenario, the low-carbon scenario, and the strengthened low-carbon scenario. The results show that under the business-as-usual scenario, the future energy consumption of Zhoushan City’s fisheries in general shows an increasing trend, and the composition of energy consumption in all scenarios is primarily dominated by fossil energy, with diesel and coal predominating. In terms of the structure of end-use energy consumption, fishing vessels and aquaculture consume the most energy, with energy consumption exceeding 30% of total energy consumption in all scenarios. In terms of the emission reduction contribution rate, which the promotion of clean energy generation, the improvement of energy efficiency, and the reduction of aquaculture production play key roles in the low-carbon development of the fishery industry. From an economic perspective, carbon reduction measures such as reduction of aquaculture production and increased efficiency of energy delivery would have significant economic benefits, but these measures have limitations. Finally, suggestions are made to optimize the energy structure, improve the implementation of energy intensity and total energy control, and strengthen public awareness of energy conservation to reduce carbon emissions from the fishery industry, thus making the research in this paper relevant to real-world situations.

Research on the coal saving and emission reduction potential of advanced technologies in China's iron and steel industry

The coal-based energy consumption structure has led to high coal consumption and carbon emissions in China's iron and steel industry, and the task of coal saving and carbon reduction in the steel industry is difficult and urgent. The economic viability of various coal-saving and emission-reduction technologies, the extent of their coal-saving and emission-reduction potential, and the guidance on the adoption of advanced technologies are crucial issues that need to be addressed in the Chinese steel industry. This article employs the Energy-Production (E-P) analysis method and the Conservation Supply Curve (CSC) model incorporating coal consumption ratio coefficients to systematically analyze coal consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the overall iron and steel industry and its sub-processes under different scenarios. It calculates the coal-saving emission reduction costs of 32 technologies, evaluates them comprehensively based on their coal-saving and emission-reduction potentials and cost-effectiveness, and categorizes them accordingly. According to the cost of coal saving and emission reduction as the demarcation point, a total of 19 technologies are cost-effective; according to the coal-saving emission reduction potential and cost division, 32 technologies are divided into 6 categories, among which 6 technologies such as sintering waste heat recovery technology can be used as key technologies for popularization and application. Seven technologies, such as efficient preheating technology of ladle, have high cost and low potential, which can be gradually eliminated or improved and upgraded. After the comprehensive promotion of the 32 technologies, the maximum coal saving potential is about 3.453 billion GJ, the CO2 emission reduction potential is 395 million tons, the total coal consumption of the steel industry can be reduced to about 13.904 billion GJ, and the carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced to 1.179 billion tons.