Regional Differences and Convergence of Carbon Emissions Intensity in Cities along the Yellow River Basin in China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors should improve the manuscript and prepare it for a journal publication. Some of the changes required are:

1. Line 19 “in this paper”, can be removed.

2. Line 41 “And”, Delete it or rewrite the sentence in a better way.

3. Line 56 “in this paper”, can be removed.

4. An additional English grammar and spelling check should be performed. Moreover, some sentences have to be reformulated to present the ideas and findings of the proposed work more clearly.

5. Some references are clustered [3-5], [10-12] and [13-15] it would be good to separate them and describe in short, the relevance of each of them.

6. Avoid having headlines follow directly - e.g. section “2. Materials and Methods”. and subsection “2.1. Research Area”. Use the space in between to introduce what comes, why, and how it is structured (add a paragraph).

7. Each acronym should be explained the first time it appears in the text, even if it appeared in the abstract. Checks all abbreviations in text: each word should start with capital to explain an abbreviation. Add a table with the title <list of abbreviations> to the article. Note: The list of abbreviations should be in alphabetical order.

8. Avoid having headlines follow directly - e.g. section “3. Results”. and subsection “3.1. Measurement and Evaluation of Carbon Emission Intensity in the YRB”. Use the space in between to introduce what comes, why, and how it is structured (add a paragraph).

9. Avoid having headlines follow directly - e.g. section “4. Conclusions and Suggestions”. and subsection “4.1. Conclusions”. Use the space in between to introduce what comes, why, and how it is structured (add a paragraph).

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The paper analyzes the regional differences and convergence of CO2 emissions intensity in 57 cities along the Yellow River Basin (YRB) in China. Applying spatial analysis and econometric techniques, the results suggests government policies aimed at developing a low-carbon economy and spurring regional coordinated development along the YRB.

In general, the paper is well-written. The Introduction provided a good research motivation, presented the literature gap, and identified its academic contribution. The detailed Methodology allows the replication of the study/method and application in another context. The Results are also presented in detail and well-discussed. The Conclusion summarizes the main findings and provides policy recommendations, which are relevant in achieving a low-carbon economy.

On the other, there are only minor issues that need to be addressed to further improve the paper.

1. The last two sentences in the Abstract can be combined. Then, Add the main implication of the findings OR broader aim of the study (related to low-carbon economy).

 2. The research background in the Introduction can be improved by adding references. Also, the first paragraph can be divided into two: general problems in YRB and climate-related problems.

3. In the Results and Discussion (or Conclusion), highlight the novelty of the findings by comparing the results with existing studies. What new insights can we learn from this study?

4. What are the main limitations of the study in terms of the methods, data, scope, and analyses? How can these be addressed in future studies?

5. Minor Issues:

- Do not cut words in the table

- In Figure 3, the overlapping numbers do not add value to the paper. Separate them, if possible.

- In Figure 5, add spaces between the years or reduce the axis label (by 2 years) like in Figure 4.

- i . y in L170 is confusing. As much as possible, do not start the sentence with a variable.

- Add unit(s) in the figures (e.g. carbon intensity).

 

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx