Dynamic Evolution and Regional Disparity in Carbon Emission Intensity in China

China's carbon reductions are of great significance to the realization of global temperature control targets. Carbon emission intensity (CEI) represents the degree of coordination between emissions and economic development to some extent. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on its spatial-temporal evolution and regional differences. To fill the gap, this study exploits the Theil index to shed light on the characteristics of its spatial-temporal distribution and regional disparities in China during the period of 2000-2019, and constructs a multi-regional spatial index decomposition model to analyze the differences in its drivers. The results indicate that the decreasing CEI during the period of 2000-2019 shows a distinctive imbalance in spatial-temporal distribution. The gap between north and south is greater than that between east and west. The expansion of the Theil index based on CEI reveals a widening tendency of the mismatch between emissions and economic development among provinces. CEI disparity is mainly due to growing intraregional differences. For most provinces, the energy intensity effect is the essential driver of spatial differences regarding CEI, with the energy structure and the industrial structure effects gradually changing from promoting to inhibiting effects. The carbon emission factor effect has no significant fluctuation, but regional differences are distinct.

Automated summary

This study analyzes the spatial-temporal distribution and regional differences of carbon emission intensity (CEI) in China from 2000 to 2019 and examines its driving factors. The findings indicate an imbalanced spatial-temporal distribution of decreasing CEI, with greater disparities between north and south than between east and west. The expanding gap between emissions and economic development among provinces is revealed by the increasing Theil index based on CEI. The study also reveals that intraregional differences are the main cause of CEI disparity, with the energy intensity effect being the primary driver of spatial differences.