Sustainable energy efficiency in China from the perspective of environmental development: A comprehensive analysis of regional disparities and policy implications

Global agreements have emerged in order to achieve carbon neutrality as the needs for renewable energy sources and carbon reduction continue to grow. To achieve the global carbon neutrality goals, China, one of the largest carbon emitters, must improve urban energy efficiency. Using a three-stage slacks-based measure (SBM) technique, this study analyses the total factor energy efficiency of 270 prefecture-level cities from 2011 through 2020. It tries to monitor and evaluate energy efficiency without taking into account variations in the outside environment. China's total factor energy efficiency shows an overall rising trend, despite significant regional variations. Improved energy efficiency levels can be attributed to technical advancements, while limitations in technology contribute to lower energy efficiency in certain areas. The study highlights the importance of considering external environmental factors in evaluating energy efficiency, able to avoid an overestimation of China's overall energy efficiency. It is noteworthy that the eastern region consistently outperforms the national average in terms of energy use efficiency. Even after taking environmental factors out of the equation, the central, west, and northeast regions still have worse energy efficiency and slower rates of growth. On this basis, from strengthening energy management and planning; facilitating cross-regional sharing of expertise; take targeted policy measures to adapt to the characteristics of the western and northeastern regions and put forward policy suggestions. These guidelines contribute to international energy cooperation and carbon reduction initiatives, while promoting sustainable energy development in China.