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New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 12673

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yaobin Liu

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: urbanization; environmental economics

Dr. Ying She

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Management, Nanchang Hang Kong University, Nanchang 330063, China
Interests: environmental economics

Dr. Huanhuan Xiong

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Guest Editor

School of Economics and Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: environmental accounting; resource and environmental auditing;ecological economy

Dr. Caiquan Bai

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Guest Editor

The Centerfor Economic Research, Shandong University, Ji’nan 250100, China
Interests: energy and environmental economics; development economics; green finance

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past four decades, the world economy has increased at an unprecedented rate. Despite economic growth raised living standards in most countries, it was also responsible for a dramatic increase in CO₂ emissions which are the most significant contributor to global warming. As a result of global warming, humankind has to face a series of critical ecological challenges, such as excessive temperature, dryness, bug outbreaks, dwindling water sources, lower agricultural production, and forest fires. The issue of carbon dioxide emissions has received increasing attention worldwide, and dozens of countries and regions have already proposed “zero carbon” or “carbon neutral” climate goals.

Understanding the relationship between economic expansion and CO₂ emissions helps governments in formulating energy policies, upgrading industrial structures and developing resources in a sustainable way. During the past two decades, a huge number of previous studies have thoroughly explored the relationship between economic expansion and CO₂ emissions. However, there has no consensus been achieved.

Recently, as a result of green technological advancements, the use of renewable energy, the development of the digital economy, the increasing awareness of public environmental protection, and the nexus between economic expansion and CO₂emissions have been experiencing deep change. Furthermore, new methods and tools for cause and effect identification, remarkable advances in remote sensing techniques, and the availability of micro firm-level data can all be conducive to the investigation of the nexus between economic expansion and co₂ emissions.

For this Special Issue, we invite authors to submit research articles or commentaries that focus on one or more of the following topics:

Decoupling between economic expansion and carbon dioxide emissions
The contributions of green energy on carbon dioxide emission reduction
New energy-saving and low-carbon innovations
Drivers of the change in carbon dioxide emissions
Fossil fuel related-carbon dioxide emissions
Digital economy and carbon dioxide emissions
Green technological innovation and carbon dioxide emissions
The effect of urban sprawl on carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide spatial variability
Carbon risk transmission of energy-intensive industries
New-type urbanization and regional carbon intensity reduction
Digital economy and carbon intensity reduction
Green finance and green development
Carbon network
Ecological security and carbon intensity reduction

Prof. Dr. Yaobin Liu
Dr. Ying She
Dr. Huanhuan Xiong
Dr. Caiquan Bai
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

green energy
industry composition
carbon neutrality targets
digital economy

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From Takeoff to Touchdown: A Decade’s Review of Carbon Emissions from Civil Aviation in China’s Expanding Megacities

by Ying She, Yangu Deng and Meiling Chen

Sustainability 2023, 15(24), 16558; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416558 - 5 Dec 2023

Viewed by 976

Abstract

The rapid growth of urbanization in China has led to a substantial escalation in the demand for civil aviation services, consequently propelling China to the third-largest contributor of carbon emissions within the aviation sector. Using the 2012–2021 data on takeoffs and landings of civil aviation aircraft in China, the aircraft engine emission factor database of the Base of Aircraft Data (BADA) from EUROCONTROL, this paper investigates the spatial-temporal distribution characteristics of atmospheric pollutants, primarily carbon emissions from Chinese civil aviation aircraft in 19 megacities. The results indicate that (1) China’s aviation CO₂ emissions equivalent between 2012 and 2022 has been on an upward trajectory, peaking at 186.53 MT in 2019 with an average annual growth of 12.52%. The trend, albeit momentarily interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, appears to persist. (2) CO₂ constitutes the highest proportion of aircraft emissions at 83.87%, with Cruise Climb Descent (CCD) cycle emissions accounting for 96.24%. CO₂ and NO_X, with the highest increase rates in the CCD and Landing and Takeoff (LTO) phases, respectively, are identified as the chief culprits in aviation-related greenhouse effects. (3) There is a marked spatial imbalance, with 19 megacities contributing 62.08% of total CO₂ emissions, compared to the 207 least-emitting cities contributing just 9.29%. (4) The pattern of city carbon emissions is changing, with rapid growth rates in the western cities of Xinjiang, Tibet, Shaanxi, and Guizhou, and varied growth rates among megacities. The implications of this study emphasize the urgency for advancements in aviation fuel technology, rigorous management of CCD phase pollutants, strategic carbon emission controls in populous cities, fostering green aviation initiatives in western regions, diverse carbon mitigation tactics, and strengthening the precision and surveillance of aviation carbon accounting systems. Collectively, this study paints a grand picture of the complexities and challenges associated with China’s urban sprawl and aviation carbon emissions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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23 pages, 1175 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Environmental Regulations Promote Regional Industrial Transfer?

by Zhengge Tu, Yu Cao and Botao Liu

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5780; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075780 - 27 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1137

Abstract

In the context of building a “Beautiful China”, it is imperative to strengthen environmental regulations to restrict industrial pollution emissions. However, there are significant differences of regulations intensity among different regions, which will lead to an increase in the cost of compliance with regulations for polluting industries, so these industries tend to transfer from areas with strong environmental regulations to areas with weak environmental regulations. Based on the panel data of 282 prefecture-level cities and national patent data from 1994 to 2010, this paper constructs a difference in difference model (DID) to empirically study the impact of environmental regulations on regional industrial transfer and its mechanism. We find that, firstly, the “Two-Control Zones” policy has significantly promoted regional industrial transfer, and its effect has gradually increased in the long run. Then, the promotion effect of the “Two-Control Zones” policy on regional industrial transfer is heterogeneous among different regions due to the regional market environment and resource endowment; that is, the promotion effect is the greatest in Central China, then in Eastern China, and finally in Western China. At the same time, the frequency of industrial transfer in areas with high resource dependence is significantly lower than that in areas with low resource dependence. Finally, mechanism studies find that environmental regulation enhances inter-regional industrial liquidity and promotes regional technological innovation, and the role of environmental regulation on technological innovation is more obvious in regions with weak industrial liquidity. This proves that the “Pollution Heaven Hypothesis” and the “Porter Hypothesis” can be established at the same time in the Chinese context, which provides more reliable empirical evidence for the government to formulate environmental regulations, restrict pollution emissions, and balance environmental governance and sustainable economic development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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25 pages, 1935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can China’s Digital Economy and Green Economy Achieve Coordinated Development?

by Meili Zhang and Shi Yin

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5666; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075666 - 23 Mar 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2247

Abstract

The coordinated development of the digital economy and green economy is a key issue that needs to be addressed. Based on the statistical data of 30 provincial-level regions in China from 2014 to 2019, this study empirically analyzed whether China’s digital economy and green economy can achieve coordinated development. In this study, a coupling coordination degree model was used to evaluate the degree of coordinated development of the digital economy and green economy in provincial regions of China. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method was adopted to identify the realization path of the coordinated development of the digital economy and green economy. The results show the following: (1) the coordinated development degree of the digital economy and green economy in China shows an upward trend from primary coordination in 2014 to intermediate-level coordination in 2019, with great differences between different regions; (2) there are five paths to achieve coordinated development of the digital economy and green economy, which are divided into two categories (technology–environment dual-drive type, and technology–organization–environment linkage drive type); (3) technological innovation capability and government financial support can substitute for one another under certain conditions to achieve the coordinated development of the digital economy and green economy. These conclusions provide a theoretical basis for countries to formulate policies to promote the coordinated development of their digital economy and green economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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26 pages, 7105 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards a Decoupling between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emissions of the Transport Sector in the Yellow River Basin

by Shiqing Zhang, Yaping Li, Zheng Liu, Xiaofei Kou and Wenlong Zheng

Sustainability 2023, 15(5), 4152; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15054152 - 24 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1494

Abstract

Realizing the decoupling development between the economic expansion and carbon dioxide emissions of the transport sector is of great importance if the Yellow River basin is to achieve green and low-carbon development. In this paper, we adopt the Tapio decoupling index to examine the decoupling relationship within the transport sector in the Yellow River basin, and then introduce the standard deviational ellipse to dynamically analyze the spatial heterogeneity of carbon emissions and economic growth at the provincial level. Furthermore, based on the decoupling method, we expand the traditional logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition (LMDI) model to decompose the decoupling index into eight sub-indices, and we identify the impact of each factor on the decoupling relationship. The results indicate that the carbon emissions of the transport sector in the Yellow River basin show the non-equilibrium characteristics of “upstream region < midstream region < downstream region”. The decoupling state of the transport sector shows obvious spatial differences. The less-developed regions are more likely to present non-ideal decoupling states. The growth rate of carbon emissions in Sichuan, Qinghai, and Shandong provinces is relatively fast, and the azimuth of the transport sector’s carbon emissions shows a clockwise trend. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of urbanization on decoupling in the Yellow River basin are much greater than the non-urbanization factors. In addition to the effect of urbanization, the transport structure has a major negative effect on decoupling development in the upstream and midstream regions, while energy intensity and energy structure are key to realizing a decoupled status in the downstream region. Finally, we propose some differentiated policy recommendations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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21 pages, 21677 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can the Growth of the Digital Economy Be Beneficial for Urban Decarbonization? A Study from Chinese Cities

by Zhichun Yu and Yanjiao Wan

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2260; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032260 - 26 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1748

Abstract

An environmentally friendly city is a livable home for the future. Can the rapidly developing digital economy help decrease carbon emissions and realize a low-carbon and clean city promptly? This study focuses on examining how multi-dimensional digital economic growth has influenced CO₂ emissions across 280 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019. Findings discover that (1) An “n”-type curve nexus exists between CO₂ emissions and the digital economy in Chinese cities, which means that digital economy expansion initially strengthens CO₂ emissions, but at a certain level, it can help achieve the target of urban decarbonization; (2) The digital economy’s influence on CO₂ emissions is spatially spilled and regionally heterogeneous, and by means of economies of scale and industrial composition upgrades, it can help the city to lower carbon emissions and benefit the low carbonization of neighboring cities. However, based on the “rebound effect”, the intermediary role of technological effects in reducing emissions in the short term is not apparent; (3) The expansion of trade openness and appropriately stringent environmental rules in line with national conditions are beneficial to lower CO₂ emissions in the city and the surrounding cities in the short term. It is recommended that policy makers actively promote the development of the digital economy, strengthen exchanges and cooperation between cities, narrow the gap between cities, and actively learn the advanced management concepts of surrounding cities through the development of economies of scale and industrial structure transformation to accomplish the target of “carbon neutrality” sooner rather than later. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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13 pages, 488 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact and Internal Mechanism of Environmental Decentralization on Green Total Factor Production

by Bin Luo, Zhenhai Liu and Sichao Mai

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 793; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010793 - 1 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1463

Abstract

Since the emergence of environmental federalism theory in the 1960s, the empirical research on it has been pursued by scholars, mainly focusing on whether a country’s environmental regulation should be centralized or decentralized. For a long time, countries have been actively exploring and putting environmental governance systems into practice for themselves, especially at present, in the face of multiple constraints of resources, environment, sustainable development power and other factors. How to build an appropriate environmental governance system and promote the level of green development by encouraging enterprises’ technological innovation is a practical problem to be solved urgently. Based on this, this paper constructs a new research framework of environmental decentralization—technological innovation—green total factor productivity (GTFP) and investigates the effect and mechanism of environmental decentralization on GTFP. The results show that environmental decentralization can reduce the quality of environmental information disclosure and inhibit the innovative output of enterprises, ultimately leading to the decrease of GTFP. Environmental decentralization has a spatial spillover effect on GTFP, which can promote GTFP in neighboring areas. This paper tries to enrich the research results of traditional environmental federalism theory, the “Porter Hypothesis”, and growth pole theory, and it provides a solution to enterprises’ financing constraint problem. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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21 pages, 3985 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Coupling Coordination Degree of Ecological-Economic and Its Influencing Factors in the Counties of Yangtze River Economic Belt

by Tongning Li, Daozheng Li, Diling Liang and Simin Huang

Sustainability 2022, 14(22), 15467; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215467 - 21 Nov 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1826

Abstract

The rapid economic development (ED) of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) has had a significant negative impact on regional ecosystem services (ES). Accurately understanding and properly handling the relationship between ES and ED is critical to achieving coordinated regional development of the YREB. Restricted by a minimal number of research units, traditional studies have not fully considered the spatial heterogeneity of the influencing factors, leading to results with poor accuracy and applicability. To address these problems, this paper introduces a spatial econometric model to explore the impact of influencing factors on the level of coordinated development in the YREB. For the 1013 counties in the YREB, we used the value equivalent method, the entropy weight method, and the coupling coordination model to quantify the coupling coordination relationship between the ecosystem services value (ESV) and ED from 2010 to 2020. The multi-scale geographically weighted regression model (MGWR) was adopted to analyze the role of influencing factors. The results showed the following: (1) The coupling coordination degree (CCD) of ESV and ED along the YREB demonstrated significant spatial heterogeneity, with Sichuan and Anhui provinces forming a low-value lag. The average CCD from high to low were found in the Triangle of Central China (TOCC), the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA), and the Chengdu–Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA). (2) There was spatial autocorrelation in the distribution of CCD, with high–high clustering mainly distributed in Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang provinces. The counties with high–high clustering were expanding, mainly centering on Kunming City in Yunnan Province and expanding outward. (3) There was significant spatial heterogeneity in the impact of each influencing factor on CCD. Per capita fiscal expenditure was sensitive to low–low clustering areas of CCD; per capita, food production was a negative influence, and the rate of urbanization transitioned from negative to positive values from west to east. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insight into the Relationship between Economic Expansion and Carbon Dioxide Emission)

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