How heterogeneous technological progress promotes industrial structure upgrading and industrial carbon efficiency? Evidence from China's industries

The bottleneck of China's industrial carbon efficiency improvement is that the contribution of carbon emission technology is less than that of energy technology, and that of neutral technology is less than that of capital-based technology. The key to breaking through this bottleneck is to clarify how heterogeneous technological progress enhances carbon efficiency through industrial structural upgrading. The effects of four levels of technological progress on carbon efficiency under two technical classifications based on technology sources and carbon emission processes from energy consumption are studied by using the DEA method. The suitable choice of the path of technological progress to promoting China's industrial carbon efficiency is provided accordingly. The panel data model is used to deeply investigate the effects of these four levels of technological progress on industrial carbon efficiency in China's 30 provincial industries. The main results are as follows: First, in terms of direct effects, progress in energy technology is more conducive to improving carbon efficiency than progress in carbon emission technology, and progress in neutral technology is more effective in improving carbon efficiency than progress in capital-embodied technology. Second, in terms of indirect effects, progress in capital-embodied technology is effective in upgrading industrial structures and enhancing carbon efficiency; and, through green upgrading of industrial structures, progress in energy technology has a positive and significant impact on carbon efficiency. Third, the level of industrial development and government environmental governance have a positive impact on carbon efficiency, and the energy structure has a negative impact on carbon efficiency.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The bottleneck in improving China's industrial carbon efficiency lies in the unequal contributions of carbon emission technology and energy technology, as well as neutral technology and capital-based technology. Clarifying how heterogeneous technological progress enhances carbon efficiency through industrial structural upgrading is crucial to overcoming this bottleneck. The study examines the effects of four levels of technological progress on carbon efficiency under two technical classifications and provides insights into the suitable path for promoting China's industrial carbon efficiency. The research findings demonstrate that energy technology has a greater direct effect on improving carbon efficiency compared to carbon emission technology, and neutral technology is more effective than capital-embodied technology. Indirectly, progress in capital-embodied technology enhances industrial structures and carbon efficiency, while progress in energy technology positively and significantly impacts carbon efficiency through green upgrading of industrial structures. Additionally, the level of industrial development, government environmental governance, and energy structure also play a role in carbon efficiency.