IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v84y2019ics014098831930310x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the driving factors of regional CO2 emissions in China using the IDA-PDA-MMI method

Author

Listed:
  • Zha, Donglan
  • Yang, Guanglei
  • Wang, Qunwei

Abstract

In this paper, we systematically summarized existing research on the driving factors of CO2 emissions and found that changes in technology gap may be one of the key driving factors of CO2 emissions. Technology efficiency, technology progress, and technology gap were decomposed by using the Meta-frontier Malmquist index (MMI), which was then combined it with the Index Decomposition Analysis (IDA) and the Production-theoretical Decomposition Analysis (PDA). Our framework was applied to Chinese provincial data from 2000 to 2016. We identified nine factors to explain changes of regional CO2 emissions. Results demonstrate that economic scale, energy technology efficiency, and output technology efficiency increased CO2 emissions in Eastern, Central, and Western regions of China, with the economic scale being the largest contributor. Energy structure, energy intensity, energy technology progress, and output technology progress decreased regional CO2 emissions, with the energy technology progress playing the strongest role. Energy technology gap and output technology gap led to an increase in CO2 emissions in Central China and, to a lesser extent, in Western China. The effects of each driving factor on CO2 emissions varied across provinces. Finally, policy implications are suggested to reduce CO2 emissions in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zha, Donglan & Yang, Guanglei & Wang, Qunwei, 2019. "Investigating the driving factors of regional CO2 emissions in China using the IDA-PDA-MMI method," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:84:y:2019:i:c:s014098831930310x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104521
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014098831930310X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104521?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Du, Kerui & Lin, Boqiang, 2015. "Understanding the rapid growth of China's energy consumption: A comprehensive decomposition framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 570-577.
    2. Choi, Ki-Hong & Ang, B.W., 2012. "Attribution of changes in Divisia real energy intensity index — An extension to index decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 171-176.
    3. Hoekstra, Rutger & van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M., 2003. "Comparing structural decomposition analysis and index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 39-64, January.
    4. Qunwei Wang & Ye Hang & Jin‐Li Hu & Ching‐Ren Chiu, 2018. "An alternative metafrontier framework for measuring the heterogeneity of technology," Naval Research Logistics (NRL), John Wiley & Sons, vol. 65(5), pages 427-445, August.
    5. Lin, Boqiang & Xu, Mengmeng, 2018. "Regional differences on CO2 emission efficiency in metallurgical industry of China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 302-311.
    6. Pasurka, Carl Jr., 2006. "Decomposing electric power plant emissions within a joint production framework," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 26-43, January.
    7. Wang, Qunwei & Chiu, Yung-Ho & Chiu, Ching-Ren, 2015. "Driving factors behind carbon dioxide emissions in China: A modified production-theoretical decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 252-260.
    8. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2018. "Decomposing the change in energy consumption in China's nonferrous metal industry: An empirical analysis based on the LMDI method," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2652-2663.
    9. Chiu, Ching-Ren & Liou, Je-Liang & Wu, Pei-Ing & Fang, Chen-Ling, 2012. "Decomposition of the environmental inefficiency of the meta-frontier with undesirable output," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1392-1399.
    10. Chai, Jian & Liang, Ting & Lai, Kin Keung & Zhang, Zhe George & Wang, Shouyang, 2018. "The future natural gas consumption in China: Based on the LMDI-STIRPAT-PLSR framework and scenario analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 215-225.
    11. Du, Kerui & Xie, Chunping & Ouyang, Xiaoling, 2017. "A comparison of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trends among provinces in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 19-25.
    12. Common, M. S. & Salma, U., 1992. "Accounting for changes in Australian carbon dioxide emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 217-225, July.
    13. Wang, Chunhua, 2007. "Decomposing energy productivity change: A distance function approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1326-1333.
    14. Oh, Dong-hyun, 2010. "A metafrontier approach for measuring an environmentally sensitive productivity growth index," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 146-157, January.
    15. Nadimi, Reza & Tokimatsu, Koji, 2018. "Energy use analysis in the presence of quality of life, poverty, health, and carbon dioxide emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 671-684.
    16. Zhang, Ning & Wei, Xiao, 2015. "Dynamic total factor carbon emissions performance changes in the Chinese transportation industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 409-420.
    17. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W. & Low, Melissa, 2013. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade and the driving forces: Processing and normal exports," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 119-125.
    18. Li, Ke & Lin, Boqiang, 2015. "Metafroniter energy efficiency with CO2 emissions and its convergence analysis for China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 230-241.
    19. Su, Bin & Thomson, Elspeth, 2016. "China's carbon emissions embodied in (normal and processing) exports and their driving forces, 2006–2012," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 414-422.
    20. Zhang, Ning & Wang, Bing & Chen, Zhongfei, 2016. "Carbon emissions reductions and technology gaps in the world's factory, 1990–2012," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 28-37.
    21. Ang, B. W., 2004. "Decomposition analysis for policymaking in energy:: which is the preferred method?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1131-1139, June.
    22. Yin, Jianhua & Zheng, Mingzheng & Chen, Jian, 2015. "The effects of environmental regulation and technical progress on CO2 Kuznets curve: An evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 97-108.
    23. Wang, H. & Ang, B.W. & Su, Bin, 2017. "Multiplicative structural decomposition analysis of energy and emission intensities: Some methodological issues," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 47-63.
    24. Zhang, Ning & Zhou, P. & Choi, Yongrok, 2013. "Energy efficiency, CO2 emission performance and technology gaps in fossil fuel electricity generation in Korea: A meta-frontier non-radial directional distance functionanalysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 653-662.
    25. Ang, B.W & Zhang, F.Q & Choi, Ki-Hong, 1998. "Factorizing changes in energy and environmental indicators through decomposition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 489-495.
    26. Moutinho, Victor & Madaleno, Mara & Inglesi-Lotz, Roula & Dogan, Eyup, 2018. "Factors affecting CO2 emissions in top countries on renewable energies: A LMDI decomposition application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 605-622.
    27. Yang, Lisha & Li, Zhi, 2017. "Technology advance and the carbon dioxide emission in China – Empirical research based on the rebound effect," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 150-161.
    28. Zhou, P. & Ang, B.W., 2008. "Decomposition of aggregate CO2 emissions: A production-theoretical approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 1054-1067, May.
    29. M. S. Common & U. Salma, 1992. "Accounting for Australian Carbon Dioxide Emissions," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 68(1), pages 31-42, March.
    30. Fernández González, P. & Landajo, M. & Presno, M.J., 2014. "Multilevel LMDI decomposition of changes in aggregate energy consumption. A cross country analysis in the EU-27," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 576-584.
    31. Cheng, Zhonghua & Li, Lianshui & Liu, Jun, 2018. "Industrial structure, technical progress and carbon intensity in China's provinces," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2935-2946.
    32. Lin, Boqiang & Du, Kerui, 2014. "Decomposing energy intensity change: A combination of index decomposition analysis and production-theoretical decomposition analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 158-165.
    33. Zhang, Wei & Li, Ke & Zhou, Dequn & Zhang, Wenrui & Gao, Hui, 2016. "Decomposition of intensity of energy-related CO2 emission in Chinese provinces using the LMDI method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 369-381.
    34. Bin Su & B. W. Ang, 2012. "Structural Decomposition Analysis Applied To Energy And Emissions: Aggregation Issues," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 299-317, March.
    35. Kim, Kyunam & Kim, Yeonbae, 2012. "International comparison of industrial CO2 emission trends and the energy efficiency paradox utilizing production-based decomposition," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1724-1741.
    36. Zhang, Ning & Choi, Yongrok, 2013. "Total-factor carbon emission performance of fossil fuel power plants in China: A metafrontier non-radial Malmquist index analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 549-559.
    37. Du, Kerui & Lu, Huang & Yu, Kun, 2014. "Sources of the potential CO2 emission reduction in China: A nonparametric metafrontier approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 491-501.
    38. Zhang, Ning & Wang, Bing, 2015. "A deterministic parametric metafrontier Luenberger indicator for measuring environmentally-sensitive productivity growth: A Korean fossil-fuel power case," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 88-98.
    39. Dong-hyun Oh & Jeong-dong Lee, 2010. "A metafrontier approach for measuring Malmquist productivity index," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 47-64, February.
    40. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2012. "Structural decomposition analysis applied to energy and emissions: Some methodological developments," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 177-188.
    41. Wang, Qunwei & Hang, Ye & Su, Bin & Zhou, Peng, 2018. "Contributions to sector-level carbon intensity change: An integrated decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 12-25.
    42. Yongrok Choi & Dong-hyun Oh & Ning Zhang, 2015. "Environmentally sensitive productivity growth and its decompositions in China: a metafrontier Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 1017-1043, November.
    43. Ang, B.W. & Zhang, F.Q., 2000. "A survey of index decomposition analysis in energy and environmental studies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 25(12), pages 1149-1176.
    44. Nagashima, Fumiya, 2018. "The sign reversal problem in structural decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 307-312.
    45. Yao, Xin & Zhou, Hongchen & Zhang, Aizhen & Li, Aijun, 2015. "Regional energy efficiency, carbon emission performance and technology gaps in China: A meta-frontier non-radial directional distance function analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 142-154.
    46. Ang, B.W. & Liu, Na, 2007. "Handling zero values in the logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 238-246, January.
    47. Zhu, Junming & Niu, Limin & Ruth, Matthias & Shi, Lei, 2018. "Technological Change and Energy Efficiency in Large Chinese Firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 241-250.
    48. Common, M S & Salma, U, 1992. "Accounting for Australian Carbon Dioxide Emissions," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 68(200), pages 31-42, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Cheng, Hao-Sen, 2021. "The impact mechanism of the ETS on CO2 emissions from the service sector: Evidence from Beijing and Shanghai," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    2. Huang, Junbing & Xiang, Shiqi & Wang, Yajun & Chen, Xiang, 2021. "Energy-saving R&D and carbon intensity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Li, Ding & Gao, Ming & Hou, Wenxuan & Song, Malin & Chen, Jiandong, 2020. "A modified and improved method to measure economy-wide carbon rebound effects based on the PDA-MMI approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    4. Lingyun Mi & Yuhuan Sun & Lijie Qiao & Tianwen Jia & Yang Yang & Tao Lv, 2021. "Analysis of the Cause of Household Carbon Lock-In for Chinese Urban Households," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Keyi Duan & Mingyao Cao & Nurhafiza Abdul Kader Malim & Yan Song, 2022. "Nonlinear Relationship between Financial Development and CO 2 Emissions—Based on a PSTR Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Yuan Kong & Chao Feng & Liyang Guo, 2022. "Peaking Global and G20 Countries’ CO 2 Emissions under the Shared Socio-Economic Pathways," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-19, September.
    7. Ai, Hongshan & Wang, Mengyuan & Zhang, Yue-Jun & Zhu, Tian-Tian, 2022. "How does air pollution affect urban innovation capability? Evidence from 281 cities in China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 166-178.
    8. Rodrigues, João F.D. & Wang, Juan & Behrens, Paul & de Boer, Paul, 2020. "Drivers of CO2 emissions from electricity generation in the European Union 2000–2015," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    9. Shao, Shuai & Zhang, Yan & Tian, Zhihua & Li, Ding & Yang, Lili, 2020. "The regional Dutch disease effect within China: A spatial econometric investigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    10. Zhou, Xiaoyong & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Qunwei & Su, Bin, 2020. "Who shapes China's carbon intensity and how? A demand-side decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    11. Kekui Chen & Jianming Fu & Yun Gong & Jian Wang & Shilin Lv & Yajie Liu & Jingyun Li, 2022. "Study on the Influencing Factors of CO 2 from the Perspective of CO 2 Mitigation Potentials," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-22, July.
    12. Zhang, Yixiang & Zhou, Weiyi & Liu, Meiling, 2022. "Driving factors of enterprise energy-saving and emission reduction behaviors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    13. Wu, F. & Zhou, P. & Zhou, D.Q., 2020. "Modeling carbon emission performance under a new joint production technology with energy input," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    14. Liu, Xiao & Hang, Ye & Wang, Qunwei & Chiu, Ching-Ren & Zhou, Dequn, 2022. "The role of energy consumption in global carbon intensity change: A meta-frontier-based production-theoretical decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    15. Chen, Qingjuan & Wang, Qunwei & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Honggang, 2023. "Drivers and evolution of low-carbon development in China's transportation industry: An integrated analytical approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Qunwei & Hang, Ye & Su, Bin & Zhou, Peng, 2018. "Contributions to sector-level carbon intensity change: An integrated decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 12-25.
    2. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2018. "Using an extended logarithmic mean Divisia index approach to assess the roles of economic factors on industrial CO2 emissions of China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 101-114.
    3. Du, Kerui & Xie, Chunping & Ouyang, Xiaoling, 2017. "A comparison of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trends among provinces in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 19-25.
    4. Dequn Zhou & Xiao Liu & Peng Zhou & Qunwei Wang, 2017. "Decomposition Analysis of Aggregate Energy Consumption in China: An Exploration Using a New Generalized PDA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Liu, Xiao & Hang, Ye & Wang, Qunwei & Chiu, Ching-Ren & Zhou, Dequn, 2022. "The role of energy consumption in global carbon intensity change: A meta-frontier-based production-theoretical decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    6. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2018. "Decomposing the change in energy consumption in China's nonferrous metal industry: An empirical analysis based on the LMDI method," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2652-2663.
    7. Huang, Fei & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Qunwei & Hang, Ye, 2019. "Decomposition and attribution analysis of the transport sector’s carbon dioxide intensity change in China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 343-358.
    8. Liu, Xiao & Zhou, Dequn & Zhou, Peng & Wang, Qunwei, 2017. "What drives CO2 emissions from China’s civil aviation? An exploration using a new generalized PDA method," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 30-45.
    9. Cheng, Zhonghua & Li, Lianshui & Liu, Jun & Zhang, Huiming, 2018. "Total-factor carbon emission efficiency of China's provincial industrial sector and its dynamic evolution," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 330-339.
    10. Zhao, Zhibo & Shi, Xunpeng & Zhao, Lingdi & Zhang, Jinggu, 2020. "Extending production-theoretical decomposition analysis to environmentally sensitive growth: Case study of Belt and Road Initiative countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    11. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Li, Aijun & Liu, Xiaohong, 2019. "Exploring sources of China's CO2 emission: Decomposition analysis under different technology changes," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 279(3), pages 984-995.
    12. Xie, Xuan & Lin, Boqiang, 2019. "Understanding the energy intensity change in China's food industry: A comprehensive decomposition method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 53-68.
    13. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2018. "Investigating the drivers of energy-related CO2 emissions in China’s industrial sector: From regional and provincial perspectives," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 136-147.
    14. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2017. "Analysis of energy-related CO2 emissions in China’s mining industry: Evidence and policy implications," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 77-87.
    15. Zhang, Wei & Wang, Nan, 2021. "Decomposition of energy intensity in Chinese industries using an extended LMDI method of production element endowment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    16. Li, Ding & Gao, Ming & Hou, Wenxuan & Song, Malin & Chen, Jiandong, 2020. "A modified and improved method to measure economy-wide carbon rebound effects based on the PDA-MMI approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    17. Xiao Liu & Yancai Zhang & Yingying Li, 2022. "How Does Energy Consumption and Economic Development Affect Carbon Emissions? A Multi-Process Decomposition Framework," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-16, November.
    18. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2017. "Decomposition of energy-related CO2 emissions in China: An empirical analysis based on provincial panel data of three sectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 772-787.
    19. Chen, Jiandong & Xu, Chong & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Song, Malin, 2021. "Interaction determinants and projections of China’s energy consumption: 1997–2030," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    20. Azam, Muhammad & Younes, Ben Zaied & Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Hussain, Nazim, 2022. "Integrated Spatial-Temporal decomposition analysis for life cycle assessment of carbon emission intensity change in various regions of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:84:y:2019:i:c:s014098831930310x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.