Spatial functional division, infrastructure and carbon emissions: Evidence from China

Under the requirements of China's regional coordination and green low-carbon development strategy, using provincial balanced panel data from 1998 to 2017, this paper reveals how the spatial functional division affects carbon emissions and discusses the regulatory effect of transportation and communication infrastructure on the relationship between the spatial functional division and carbon emissions. The research conclusions are as follows. First, with the deepening of spatial functional division, the carbon emissions show a significant inverted U-shaped trend, and this result remains robust after taking into account location differences and spatial form. Second, the number of provinces where the spatial functional division exceeds the inflection point gradually increases; however, the level of spatial functional division in most provinces is insufficient. Third, the mechanism analysis indicates that market integration and technological progress are important channels through which spatial functional division affects carbon emissions. Finally, the enhancement of transportation and communication infrastructure contributes to the carbon reduction effect of the spatial functional division. In a context where the link between agglomeration and carbon emissions has been widely explored, this paper provides new evidence and cases for thinking about the synergistic development of industrial agglomeration and carbon emissions reduction from the perspective of functional division.