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Carbon emissions of China's transportation industry: Decoupling analysis, efficiency measurement, and related factors

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  • Yang, Xiaoli
  • Yang, Xiaoxia
  • Cui, Wei

Abstract

As the third-largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, the transportation industry faces a critical challenge in achieving carbon reduction. This study examines carbon emissions across 30 provinces and cities in China, aiming to improve the carbon emission efficiency of the transportation industry (TCEE). First, using the impact-GDP-technology model, the decoupling index is conducted for the added value and energy carbon emissions. Then, by establishing a static-dynamic efficiency (SDE) framework, the efficiencies are evaluated based on the Super Epsilon-based measure and the Global Malmquist-Luenberger index. Subsequently, the grey relational analysis (GRA) model and Tobit model are applied to assess the factors most closely related to TCEE from three aspects: economy, structure, and technology. Empirical analysis draws the following conclusions: 1) The decoupling state is shifting from relative decoupling to absolute decoupling. 2) The static TCEE reveals a pattern of "high in the east and low in the west". Besides, the northern region demonstrates higher efficiency than the other regions. 3) The dynamic TCEE in the southern region has improved significantly, surpassing that of both the northern region and the northwest region. Notably, both static and dynamic TCEE exhibit a "W"-shaped trend. 4) The Dagum Gini coefficient indicates a relatively low value, with noticeable variations in index values both within and between regions. 5) The GRA results suggest that the correlation between structural factors and TCEE is generally greater than that with economic factors. Based on these findings, this study makes promotion countermeasures to support sustainable development in the transportation industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Xiaoli & Yang, Xiaoxia & Cui, Wei, 2025. "Carbon emissions of China's transportation industry: Decoupling analysis, efficiency measurement, and related factors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 339(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:339:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225046225
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138980
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