Work

Assessment of carbon emission efficiency in the Pearl River-Xijiang economic belt over the past 15 years and exploration of improvement opportunities

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: sCarbon Emission Efficiency (CEE) serves as a crucial metric for assessing regional economic development and carbon mitigation. Enhancing CEE promotes synergy between economic growth and emission reduction, accelerating socio-economic green transformation. As China's first cross-basin ecological civilization pilot zone, the Pearl River-Xijiang Economic Belt (PXEB) exhibits significant upstream-downstream disparities in CEE, reflecting varying capacities to balance carbon reduction, economic growth, and ecological conservation. Investigating CEE determinants (including socio-economic and policy factors) is vital for designing spatially differentiated strategies aligning basin-wide sustainability with local development needs. Using 2005–2020 panel data from 67 PXEB districts, this study applies the SBM-DDF model and Global Malmquist-Luenberger index to measure CEE, with GTWR modeling analyzing six influencing factors. Key findings: (1) During 2006–2020, PXEB's CEE showed fluctuating growth, with upstream areas having greater improvement potential. Upstream inter-county disparities constituted the primary source of regional imbalances. (2) CEE transition dynamics are spatially heterogeneous, where neighboring areas' improvements promote local upward shifts and curb declines within specific regional typologies. (3) Economic development level exerts the strongest influence on CEE, with factors exhibiting divergent spatiotemporal impacts across regions and development stages. This study comprehensively evaluates PXEB's CEE through dynamic-static dimensions, systematically examines drivers' spatiotemporally heterogeneous impacts, and clarifies mechanisms linking factors like population density to CEE, offering scientific support for tailored emission reduction policies.

Source: Environmental and Sustainability Indicators

DOI: 10.1016/j.indic.2025.100883

Authors: Jiaxin Tan, Yulian Liang, Sufang Yu, Jiye He, Ju Liu

Institutions: Nanning Normal University, Guangxi University

Language: English

Topic: Energy, Environment, Economic Growth

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,350