IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i7p1327-d1684755.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Determinants and Spatial Interaction of Regional Carbon Transfer: The Perspective of Dependence

Author

Listed:
  • Yatian Liu

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China)

  • Hongchang Li

    (School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China)

  • Qiming Wang

    (School of Economics, Shanghai University, Shanghai 201900, China)

Abstract

Carbon transfer embodies the spatial redistribution of carbon emissions resulting from interregional economic activities and trade. In recent years, accelerated regional integration and deepening specialization within industrial chains have rendered traditional bilateral analytical frameworks inadequate for capturing the complexity of interregional carbon transfer networks. This evolving context necessitates the incorporation of spatial interaction effects to elucidate the multi-nodal and multi-pathway characteristics inherent in contemporary carbon transfer patterns. Based on the spatial interaction theoretical framework and a multiregional input–output (MRIO) model, we analyze the spatial dependence characteristics of interregional carbon transfer in China. The results reveal that interregional carbon transfer in China exhibited an upward trend from 2012 to 2017, demonstrating statistically significant positive origin dependence, destination dependence, and network dependence. The distance between regions exerts a significantly negative influence on interregional carbon transfer. Interregional carbon transfer is not merely a bilateral phenomenon; its fundamental nature is characterized as a network phenomenon. Our study demonstrates that precise regulation of the allocation of industrial land and transportation infrastructure land, strengthening the decisive role of market mechanisms in resource allocation for regional low-carbon development, and establishing interregional collaboration mechanisms for low-carbon exchange can effectively reduce the occurrence of interregional carbon transfer. These findings provide policymakers with more precise information to achieve equitable carbon emissions distribution across regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Yatian Liu & Hongchang Li & Qiming Wang, 2025. "The Determinants and Spatial Interaction of Regional Carbon Transfer: The Perspective of Dependence," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-27, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:1327-:d:1684755
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/7/1327/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/7/1327/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jayadevappa, Ravishankar & Chhatre, Sumedha, 2000. "International trade and environmental quality: a survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 175-194, February.
    2. Paula Margaretic & Christine Thomas-Agnan & Romain Doucet, 2017. "Spatial dependence in (origin-destination) air passenger flows," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 96(2), pages 357-380, June.
    3. Ivanova, Diana & Wieland, Hanspeter, 2023. "Tracing carbon footprints to intermediate industries in the United Kingdom," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    4. Aichele, Rahel & Heiland, Inga, 2018. "Where is the value added? Trade liberalization and production networks," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 130-144.
    5. James P. LeSage & R. Kelley Pace, 2014. "The Biggest Myth in Spatial Econometrics," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-33, December.
    6. Hu, Ying & Yu, Yang & Mardani, Abbas, 2021. "Selection of carbon emissions control industries in China: An approach based on complex networks control perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    7. Zhu Liu & Steven J. Davis & Kuishuang Feng & Klaus Hubacek & Sai Liang & Laura Diaz Anadon & Bin Chen & Jingru Liu & Jinyue Yan & Dabo Guan, 2016. "Targeted opportunities to address the climate–trade dilemma in China," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(2), pages 201-206, February.
    8. M. Lenzen & D. Moran & K. Kanemoto & B. Foran & L. Lobefaro & A. Geschke, 2012. "International trade drives biodiversity threats in developing nations," Nature, Nature, vol. 486(7401), pages 109-112, June.
    9. Gao, Cuixia & Tao, Simin & He, Yuyang & Su, Bin & Sun, Mei & Mensah, Isaac Adjei, 2021. "Effect of population migration on spatial carbon emission transfers in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    10. Peters, Glen P., 2008. "From production-based to consumption-based national emission inventories," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 13-23, March.
    11. Aichele, Rahel & Felbermayr, Gabriel, 2012. "Kyoto and the carbon footprint of nations," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 336-354.
    12. Wang, Yihan & Xiong, Siqin & Ma, Xiaoming, 2022. "Carbon inequality in global trade: Evidence from the mismatch between embodied carbon emissions and value added," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    13. Yang, Yafei & Wang, Hui & Löschel, Andreas & Zhou, Peng, 2022. "Patterns and determinants of carbon emission flows along the Belt and Road from 2005 to 2030," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    14. Qiqi Wu & Jijun Meng & Cuiyutong Yang & Likai Zhu, 2025. "Quantifying the Provincial Carbon Emissions of China Embodied in Trade: The Perspective of Land Use," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, April.
    15. Feng, Tong & Du, Huibin & Zhang, Zengkai & Mi, Zhifu & Guan, Dabo & Zuo, Jian, 2020. "Carbon transfer within China: Insights from production fragmentation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    16. Weber, Christopher L. & Peters, Glen P. & Guan, Dabo & Hubacek, Klaus, 2008. "The contribution of Chinese exports to climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3572-3577, September.
    17. James P. LeSage & R. Kelley Pace, 2008. "Spatial Econometric Modeling Of Origin‐Destination Flows," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(5), pages 941-967, December.
    18. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Song, Malin & Zameer, Hashim & Jiao, Zhilun, 2020. "Public-private partnerships investment in energy as new determinant of CO2 emissions: The role of technological innovations in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    19. Lenzen, Manfred & Murray, Joy, 2010. "Conceptualising environmental responsibility," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 261-270, December.
    20. Yu, Haijing & Shen, Shaowei & Han, Lei & Ouyang, Jian, 2024. "Spatiotemporal heterogeneities in the impact of the digital economy on carbon emission transfers in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    21. Xu, Chengzhen & Zhu, Qingyuan & Li, Xingchen & Wu, Liangpeng & Deng, Ping, 2024. "Determinants of global carbon emission and aggregate carbon intensity: A multi-region input−output approach," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 418-435.
    22. Fang, Guochang & Huang, Meng & Zhang, Wenbin & Tian, Lixin, 2024. "Exploring global embodied carbon emissions transfer network—An analysis based on national responsibility," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    23. Felice, Giulia & Tajoli, Lucia, 2021. "Trade balances and global value chains: Is there a link?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 228-246.
    24. Sun, Licheng & Wang, Qunwei & Zhang, Jijian, 2017. "Inter-industrial Carbon Emission Transfers in China: Economic Effect and Optimization Strategy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 55-62.
    25. Wu, Linfei & Sun, Liwen & Qi, Peixiao & Ren, Xiangwei & Sun, Xiaoting, 2021. "Energy endowment, industrial structure upgrading, and CO2 emissions in China: Revisiting resource curse in the context of carbon emissions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Boya Zhang & Shukuan Bai & Yadong Ning & Tao Ding & Yan Zhang, 2020. "Emission Embodied in International Trade and Its Responsibility from the Perspective of Global Value Chain: Progress, Trends, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-26, April.
    2. Zhengyan Liu & Xianqiang Mao & Peng Song, 2017. "GHGs and air pollutants embodied in China’s international trade: Temporal and spatial index decomposition analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, April.
    3. Marco Sakai & Anne Owen & John Barrett, 2017. "The UK’s Emissions and Employment Footprints: Exploring the Trade-Offs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Meng, Jing & Liu, Junfeng & Guo, Shan & Huang, Ye & Tao, Shu, 2016. "The impact of domestic and foreign trade on energy-related PM emissions in Beijing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 853-862.
    5. Taherzadeh, Oliver, 2020. "Locating pressures on water, energy and land resources across global supply chains," SocArXiv ue45p, Center for Open Science.
    6. Fang, Guochang & Huang, Meng & Zhang, Wenbin & Tian, Lixin, 2024. "Exploring global embodied carbon emissions transfer network—An analysis based on national responsibility," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    7. Fernández-Amador, Octavio & Francois, Joseph F. & Tomberger, Patrick, 2016. "Carbon dioxide emissions and international trade at the turn of the millennium," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 14-26.
    8. Meng, Jing & Zhang, Zengkai & Mi, Zhifu & Anadon, Laura Diaz & Zheng, Heran & Zhang, Bo & Shan, Yuli & Guan, Dabo, 2018. "The role of intermediate trade in the change of carbon flows within China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 303-312.
    9. Xiaowu Huang & Xin Zhao & Ao Jiao & Jianming Zheng, 2024. "Network Effects in Global Carbon Transfer: New Evidence from a Carbon-Connectedness Network Centered on China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-32, May.
    10. Gabriela Michalek & Reimund Schwarze, 2015. "Carbon leakage: pollution, trade or politics?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 17(6), pages 1471-1492, December.
    11. repec:osf:socarx:ue45p_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Meng, Fanxin & Liu, Gengyuan & Liang, Sai & Su, Meirong & Yang, Zhifeng, 2019. "Critical review of the energy-water-carbon nexus in cities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1017-1032.
    13. Zhang, Bo & Yang, T.R. & Chen, B. & Sun, X.D., 2016. "China’s regional CH4 emissions: Characteristics, interregional transfer and mitigation policies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1184-1195.
    14. Wei, Long & Li, Wenjing & Jin, Zhida, 2024. "Global value chains participation and trade-induced carbon inequality: A comparative analysis of developed and developing economies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    15. Zhang, Yan & Li, Yaoguang & Hubacek, Klaus & Tian, Xin & Lu, Zhongming, 2019. "Analysis of CO2 transfer processes involved in global trade based on ecological network analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 576-583.
    16. Zhiyong Yang & Wenjie Dong & Jinfeng Xiu & Rufeng Dai & Jieming Chou, 2015. "Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-25, September.
    17. Pan, Yue & Chai, Jian & Tian, Lingyue & Zhang, Xiaokong & Wang, Jiaoyan, 2024. "Regional inequality in China's electricity trade," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    18. Eivind Lekve Bjelle & Johannes Többen & Konstantin Stadler & Thomas Kastner & Michaela C. Theurl & Karl-Heinz Erb & Kjartan-Steen Olsen & Kirsten S. Wiebe & Richard Wood, 2020. "Adding country resolution to EXIOBASE: impacts on land use embodied in trade," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 9(1), pages 1-25, December.
    19. Marques, Alexandra & Rodrigues, João & Domingos, Tiago, 2013. "International trade and the geographical separation between income and enabled carbon emissions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 162-169.
    20. Fernández-Amador, Octavio & Francois, Joseph F. & Oberdabernig, Doris A. & Tomberger, Patrick, 2023. "Energy footprints and the international trade network: A new dataset. Is the European Union doing it better?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 204(PA).
    21. Mi, Zhifu & Zhang, Yunkun & Guan, Dabo & Shan, Yuli & Liu, Zhu & Cong, Ronggang & Yuan, Xiao-Chen & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2016. "Consumption-based emission accounting for Chinese cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1073-1081.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:1327-:d:1684755. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.