IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v27y2025i1d10.1007_s10668-023-04385-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic–environmental coordination and influencing factors under dual-carbon goal: a spatial empirical evidence from China’s transport sector

Author

Listed:
  • Jiaguo Liu

    (Dalian Maritime University)

  • Hui Meng

    (Dalian Maritime University)

  • Haonan Xu

    (Dalian Maritime University)

  • Jihong Chen

    (Shenzhen University)

Abstract

Promoting the coordination between the economic and environmental aspects of the transport sector can reduce carbon emissions and achieve low-carbon sustainable development. With the implementation of China’s dual carbon goals, there is a need for further exploration into improving the coordination performance of the transport sector. This study utilizes data from 2009 to 2019 in Chinese provinces and employs a two-stage network data envelopment analysis and coupling coordination degree model to measure the economic–environmental coordination (EEC) of the transport sector. It also visualizes the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics. Furthermore, we utilize a spatial Durbin model to analyze the multifaceted and complex factors influencing EEC from a spatial effects perspective. The results indicate that: (1) Economic efficiency consistently outperforms environmental efficiency in each province. (2) EEC performs better in the east than in the west and center. (3) Population density, energy intensity, and informatization are key factors hindering the improvement of EEC and it should be noted that influencing factors differ across regions. (4) EEC indeed has spatial effect, highlighting the importance of considering regional interdependence and mutual influence. This study underscores the crucial link between low-carbon construction and coordinated development, offering a novel avenue for the transformation of the transport sector. It also provides valuable management insights for enterprises and governments seeking new development opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiaguo Liu & Hui Meng & Haonan Xu & Jihong Chen, 2025. "Economic–environmental coordination and influencing factors under dual-carbon goal: a spatial empirical evidence from China’s transport sector," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 531-569, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10668-023-04385-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04385-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-023-04385-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-023-04385-5?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. Eldowma, Ibrahim Ahmed & Zhang, Guoxing & Su, Bin, 2023. "The nexus between electricity consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and economic growth in Sudan (1971–2019)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    2. Lai, Po‐Lin & Potter, Andrew & Beynon, Malcolm & Beresford, Anthony, 2015. "Evaluating the efficiency performance of airports using an integrated AHP/DEA-AR technique," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-85.
    3. Hayat Khan & Liu Weili & Itbar Khan, 2022. "Environmental innovation, trade openness and quality institutions: an integrated investigation about environmental sustainability," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 3832-3862, March.
    4. Wang, Yongpei & Guan, Zhongyu & Zhang, Qian, 2023. "Railway opening and carbon emissions in distressed areas: Evidence from China's state-level poverty-stricken counties," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 55-67.
    5. Zhao, Pengjun & Zeng, Liangen & Li, Peilin & Lu, Haiyan & Hu, Haoyu & Li, Chengming & Zheng, Mengyuan & Li, Haitao & Yu, Zhao & Yuan, Dandan & Xie, Jinxin & Huang, Qi & Qi, Yuting, 2022. "China's transportation sector carbon dioxide emissions efficiency and its influencing factors based on the EBM DEA model with undesirable outputs and spatial Durbin model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PC).
    6. Tan, Ruipeng & Pan, Lulu & Xu, Mengmeng & He, Xinju, 2022. "Transportation infrastructure, economic agglomeration and non-linearities of green total factor productivity growth in China: Evidence from partially linear functional coefficient model," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1-13.
    7. Li, Yan & Chen, Zhenhua & Wang, Peng, 2020. "Impact of high-speed rail on urban economic efficiency in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 220-231.
    8. Li, Zhiguo & Wang, Jie, 2022. "Spatial spillover effect of carbon emission trading on carbon emission reduction: Empirical data from pilot regions in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    9. Li, Tao & Yang, Wenyue & Zhang, Haoran & Cao, Xiaoshu, 2016. "Evaluating the impact of transport investment on the efficiency of regional integrated transport systems in China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 66-76.
    10. Kao, Chiang & Hwang, Shiuh-Nan, 2008. "Efficiency decomposition in two-stage data envelopment analysis: An application to non-life insurance companies in Taiwan," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 185(1), pages 418-429, February.
    11. Sun, Jiasen & Yuan, Yang & Yang, Rui & Ji, Xiang & Wu, Jie, 2017. "Performance evaluation of Chinese port enterprises under significant environmental concerns: An extended DEA-based analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 75-86.
    12. Yujing Guo & Qian Zhang & Kin Keung Lai & Yingqin Zhang & Shubin Wang & Wanli Zhang, 2020. "The Impact of Urban Transportation Infrastructure on Air Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-25, July.
    13. Jiang, Qingquan & Khattak, Shoukat Iqbal & Rahman, Zia Ur, 2021. "Measuring the simultaneous effects of electricity consumption and production on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) in China: New evidence from an EKC-based assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    14. Jun, Wen & Mughal, Nafeesa & Zhao, Jin & Shabbir, Malik Shahzad & Niedbała, Gniewko & Jain, Vipin & Anwar, Ahsan, 2021. "Does globalization matter for environmental degradation? Nexus among energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emission," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    15. Zhao, Deng & Zhen-fu, Li & Yu-tao, Zhou & Xiao, Chen & Shan-shan, Liang, 2020. "Measurement and spatial spillover effects of port comprehensive strength: Empirical evidence from China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 288-298.
    16. Xu, Bin & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "Investigating spatial variability of CO2 emissions in heavy industry: Evidence from a geographically weighted regression model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    17. Zhang, Yijia & Cheng, Lu, 2023. "The role of transport infrastructure in economic growth: Empirical evidence in the UK," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 223-233.
    18. Jiankang Wang & Qian Han & Yuhong Du, 2022. "Coordinated development of the economy, society and environment in urban China: a case study of 285 cities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 12917-12935, November.
    19. Fang, Chang & Fan, Shuyi & Chi, Mingxiang & Wang, Weizhong, 2023. "The optimal remanufacturing strategy, returned quality choice and independent remanufacturers’ advantage for tackling extreme weather," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    20. Junran Dong & Desheng Wu & Jingxiu Song & Jie Lu, 2022. "Gauging the environmental efficiency with ecological compensation in presence of missing data using data envelopment analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5451-5472, April.
    21. Sun, Dexi & Xia, Jianjun, 2023. "Research on road transport planning aiming at near zero carbon emissions: Taking Ruicheng County as an example," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PB).
    22. Huang, Ren & Zhang, Sufang & Wang, Peng, 2022. "Key areas and pathways for carbon emissions reduction in Beijing for the “Dual Carbon” targets," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    23. Liu, Jiaguo & Li, Sujuan & Ji, Qiang, 2021. "Regional differences and driving factors analysis of carbon emission intensity from transport sector in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    24. Long, Hai & Li, Wen-Wei & Otrakçı, Caner, 2023. "Sustaining environment through natural resource and human development: Revisiting EKC curve in China through BARDL," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    25. Dong, Kangyin & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Zhao, Jun, 2022. "How do pollution fees affect environmental quality in China?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    26. Du, Huibin & Chen, Zhenni & Peng, Binbin & Southworth, Frank & Ma, Shoufeng & Wang, Yuan, 2019. "What drives CO2 emissions from the transport sector? A linkage analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 195-204.
    27. Sun, Yu & Cui, Yin, 2018. "Evaluating the coordinated development of economic, social and environmental benefits of urban public transportation infrastructure: Case study of four Chinese autonomous municipalities," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 116-126.
    28. Feng Wang & Mingru Dong & Jing Ren & Shan Luo & Hui Zhao & Juan Liu, 2022. "The impact of urban spatial structure on air pollution: empirical evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5531-5550, April.
    29. Ahakwa, Isaac & Xu, Yi & Tackie, Evelyn Agba & Odai, Leslie Afotey & Sarpong, Francis Atta & Korankye, Benard & Ofori, Elvis Kwame, 2023. "Do natural resources and green technological innovation matter in addressing environmental degradation? Evidence from panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    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. Wang, Luojia & Du, Kerui & Shao, Shuai, 2024. "Transportation infrastructure and carbon emissions: New evidence with spatial spillover and endogeneity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    2. Liu, Hongwei & Shao, Liangyu & Min, Jie & Ji, Xiang, 2024. "Regional differences and determinants of environmental efficiency in China's road transportation industry," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 931-946.
    3. Xiaohong Liu & Feng Yang & Jie Wu, 2020. "DEA considering technological heterogeneity and intermediate output target setting: the performance analysis of Chinese commercial banks," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 291(1), pages 605-626, August.
    4. Ji, Wei & Huang, Zhengfeng & Gao, Gao & Zheng, Pengjun, 2024. "Evaluation of integrated transport efficiency and equity at the county level——taking the counties in ningbo city as an example," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 257-272.
    5. Muhammet Daştan & Hakan Eygü, 2024. "An empirical investigation of the link between economic growth, unemployment, and ecological footprint in Turkey: Bridging the EKC and EPC hypotheses," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 18957-18988, July.
    6. Wang, G.Y. & Li, Y.P. & Liu, J. & Huang, G.H. & Chen, L.R. & Yang, Y.J. & Gao, P.P., 2022. "A two-phase factorial input-output model for analyzing CO2-emission reduction pathway and strategy from multiple perspectives – A case study of Fujian province," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    7. Yingjie Zhu & Yinghui Guo & Yongfa Chen & Jiageng Ma & Dan Zhang, 2024. "Factors Influencing Carbon Emission and Low-Carbon Development Levels in Shandong Province: Method Analysis Based on Improved Random Forest Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Model and Entropy ," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Jiang, Yonglei & Liao, Feixiong & Xu, Qi & Yang, Zhongzhen, 2019. "Identification of technology spillover among airport alliance from the perspective of efficiency evaluation: The case of China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 49-58.
    9. Yunlong Liu & Leiyu Chen & Chengfeng Huang, 2022. "Study on the Carbon Emission Spillover Effects of Transportation under Technological Advancements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-13, August.
    10. Guoshu Lai & Xingjin Yu & Guoyao Wu & Zhiqiang Lan, 2025. "High-Quality Development and Decoupling Economic Growth from Air Pollution: Evidence from Daily Electricity Consumption in Fujian," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-25, February.
    11. Rujia Chen & Yaping Zhang, 2024. "Freight transport structure evaluation and optimization toward sustainable development: New evidence from the SBM-DEA model with undesirable outputs," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(6), pages 14257-14280, June.
    12. Bowen Xiao & Chengyao Xu, 2023. "Can Policy Instruments Achieve Synergies in Mitigating Air Pollution and CO 2 Emissions in the Transportation Sector?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-24, October.
    13. Syed Ale Raza Shah & Syed Asif Ali Naqvi & Sofia Anwar & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah & Abdul Majeed Nadeem, 2022. "Socio-economic impact assessment of environmental degradation in Pakistan: fresh evidence from the Markov switching equilibrium correction model," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13786-13816, December.
    14. Liu, Yin & Alnafrah, Ibrahim & Zhou, Yaying, 2024. "A systemic efficiency measurement of resource management and sustainable practices: A network bias-corrected DEA assessment of OECD countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    15. Pang, Qinghua & Qiu, Man & Zhang, Lina & Chiu, Yung-ho, 2024. "Congestion effects of energy and its influencing factors: China's transportation sector," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. Chuanxu Wang & Xiaohan Dou & Hercules Haralambides, 2022. "Port centrality and the Composite Connectivity Index: Introducing a new concept in assessing the attractiveness of hub ports," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 24(1), pages 67-91, March.
    17. Li, Sujuan & Liu, Jiaguo & Kong, Yudan, 2021. "Pilot free trade zones and Chinese port-listed companies performance: An empirical research based on quasi-natural experiment," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 125-137.
    18. Zhu, Qingyuan & Xu, Chengzhen & Chen, Qingjuan & Wu, Liangpeng, 2024. "Oil price distortion and its impact on green economic efficiency in China’s transportation: A spatial effect perspective," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    19. Dong, Jia & Li, Cunbin, 2022. "Scenario prediction and decoupling analysis of carbon emission in Jiangsu Province, China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    20. Chen, Huadun & Du, Qianxi & Huo, Tengfei & Liu, Peiran & Cai, Weiguang & Liu, Bingsheng, 2023. "Spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanism of carbon emissions in China's urban residential building sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).

    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:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s10668-023-04385-5. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.