IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v167y2022ics0301421522002713.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Path-breaking industrial development reduces carbon emissions: Evidence from Chinese Provinces, 1999–2011

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Yingcheng

Abstract

The secondary industry has been a major contributor to energy consumption and carbon emissions, whereas relatively few studies have empirically analyzed how different evolution patterns of the secondary industry could affect carbon emissions. By taking China as a case study, this paper investigates the relationship between carbon emissions and path-breaking industrial development at the provincial level. Here the development of a province's secondary industry is considered more path-breaking if the newly-developed subsectors of the secondary industry are less related with its existing subsectors. Drawing upon the concept of industrial relatedness and fine-grained data on the development of 183 three-digit and 505 four-digit subsectors of China's secondary industry, this paper measures the path-breaking development level of the secondary industry of 30 Chinese provinces between 1999 and 2011. The empirical results show that path-breaking development of the secondary industry reduces carbon emissions of Chinese provinces. Moreover, the impact of path-breaking industrial development is much stronger for provinces that have higher output of energy-intensive industries. The results suggest that, rather than curbing the growth of the secondary industry, promoting path-breaking industrial development can be an alternative and effective way to reduce carbon emissions especially for provinces that rely heavily on the secondary industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Yingcheng, 2022. "Path-breaking industrial development reduces carbon emissions: Evidence from Chinese Provinces, 1999–2011," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:167:y:2022:i:c:s0301421522002713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421522002713
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113046?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. J�rgen Essletzbichler, 2015. "Relatedness, Industrial Branching and Technological Cohesion in US Metropolitan Areas," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 752-766, May.
    2. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Da, Ya-Bin, 2015. "The decomposition of energy-related carbon emission and its decoupling with economic growth in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1255-1266.
    3. Frank Neffke & Martin Henning & Ron Boschma, 2011. "How Do Regions Diversify over Time? Industry Relatedness and the Development of New Growth Paths in Regions," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 87(3), pages 237-265, July.
    4. Unruh, Gregory C., 2002. "Escaping carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 317-325, March.
    5. Feldman, Maryann P. & Audretsch, David B., 1999. "Innovation in cities:: Science-based diversity, specialization and localized competition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 409-429, February.
    6. Boschma, Ron & Heimeriks, Gaston & Balland, Pierre-Alexandre, 2014. "Scientific knowledge dynamics and relatedness in biotech cities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 107-114.
    7. Ron Boschma & Asier Minondo & Mikel Navarro, 2013. "The Emergence of New Industries at the Regional Level in S pain: A Proximity Approach Based on Product Relatedness," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 89(1), pages 29-51, January.
    8. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2017. "Decomposition of energy-related CO2 emissions in China: An empirical analysis based on provincial panel data of three sectors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 772-787.
    9. Mercedes Delgado & Michael E. Porter & Scott Stern, 2016. "Defining clusters of related industries," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 16(1), pages 1-38.
    10. C. A. Hidalgo & B. Klinger & A. -L. Barabasi & R. Hausmann, 2007. "The Product Space Conditions the Development of Nations," Papers 0708.2090, arXiv.org.
    11. Audretsch, David B. & Feldman, Maryann P., 2004. "Knowledge spillovers and the geography of innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: J. V. Henderson & J. F. Thisse (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 61, pages 2713-2739, Elsevier.
    12. Long, Ruyin & Shao, Tianxiang & Chen, Hong, 2016. "Spatial econometric analysis of China’s province-level industrial carbon productivity and its influencing factors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 210-219.
    13. Brandt, Loren & Van Biesebroeck, Johannes & Zhang, Yifan, 2012. "Creative accounting or creative destruction? Firm-level productivity growth in Chinese manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 339-351.
    14. Xu, Shi-Chun & He, Zheng-Xia & Long, Ru-Yin, 2014. "Factors that influence carbon emissions due to energy consumption in China: Decomposition analysis using LMDI," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 182-193.
    15. Unruh, Gregory C., 2000. "Understanding carbon lock-in," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 817-830, October.
    16. Cai, Jialiang & Yin, He & Varis, Olli, 2016. "Impacts of industrial transition on water use intensity and energy-related carbon intensity in China: A spatio-temporal analysis during 2003–2012," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 1112-1122.
    17. Jeremy D. Shakun & Peter U. Clark & Feng He & Shaun A. Marcott & Alan C. Mix & Zhengyu Liu & Bette Otto-Bliesner & Andreas Schmittner & Edouard Bard, 2012. "Global warming preceded by increasing carbon dioxide concentrations during the last deglaciation," Nature, Nature, vol. 484(7392), pages 49-54, April.
    18. Fan, Jing-Li & Zhang, Yue-Jun & Wang, Bing, 2017. "The impact of urbanization on residential energy consumption in China: An aggregated and disaggregated analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 220-233.
    19. Wang, Shaojian & Liu, Xiaoping, 2017. "China’s city-level energy-related CO2 emissions: Spatiotemporal patterns and driving forces," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 204-214.
    20. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Lin, Boqiang, 2015. "An analysis of the driving forces of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in China’s industrial sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 838-849.
    21. Rui Huang & Klaus Hubacek & Kuishuang Feng & Xiaojie Li & Chao Zhang, 2018. "Re-Examining Embodied SO 2 and CO 2 Emissions in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-17, May.
    22. Zhou, Yang & Liu, Yansui, 2016. "Does population have a larger impact on carbon dioxide emissions than income? Evidence from a cross-regional panel analysis in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 800-809.
    23. Kai Zhu & Manya Tu & Yingcheng Li, 2022. "Did Polycentric and Compact Structure Reduce Carbon Emissions? A Spatial Panel Data Analysis of 286 Chinese Cities from 2002 to 2019," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-15, January.
    24. Wang, Qunwei & Zhou, Peng & Zhou, Dequn, 2012. "Efficiency measurement with carbon dioxide emissions: The case of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 161-166.
    25. Pierre-Alexandre Balland & Ron Boschma & Joan Crespo & David L. Rigby, 2019. "Smart specialization policy in the European Union: relatedness, knowledge complexity and regional diversification," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(9), pages 1252-1268, September.
    26. Liddle, Brantley & Sadorsky, Perry, 2017. "How much does increasing non-fossil fuels in electricity generation reduce carbon dioxide emissions?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 212-221.
    27. Wang, Shaojian & Liu, Xiaoping & Zhou, Chunshan & Hu, Jincan & Ou, Jinpei, 2017. "Examining the impacts of socioeconomic factors, urban form, and transportation networks on CO2 emissions in China’s megacities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P1), pages 189-200.
    28. Shan, Yuli & Liu, Jianghua & Liu, Zhu & Xu, Xinwanghao & Shao, Shuai & Wang, Peng & Guan, Dabo, 2016. "New provincial CO2 emission inventories in China based on apparent energy consumption data and updated emission factors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 742-750.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hussain, Jafar & Mu, Xian, 2024. "Renewable energy and carbon-neutral gaming: A holistic approach to sustainable electricity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    2. Shien Xiao & Langang Feng & Shu Shang, 2022. "The Environmental Effect of Industrial Transfer in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-20, October.
    3. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Hussain, Jafar, 2022. "Carbon neutral sustainability and green development during energy consumption," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(1).
    4. Rongbin Wang & Weifeng Zhang & Wenlong Deng & Ruihao Zhang & Xiaohui Zhang, 2022. "Study on Prediction of Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction in Universities Based on Exponential Smoothing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-11, September.

    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. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 1: Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung – Welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert das Wach," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58342, March.
    2. Hidalgo, César A., 2023. "The policy implications of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    3. Li, Hao & Zhao, Yuhuan & Qiao, Xiaoyong & Liu, Ya & Cao, Ye & Li, Yue & Wang, Song & Zhang, Zhonghua & Zhang, Yongfeng & Weng, Jianfeng, 2017. "Identifying the driving forces of national and regional CO2 emissions in China: Based on temporal and spatial decomposition analysis models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 522-538.
    4. C'esar A. Hidalgo, 2022. "The Policy Implications of Economic Complexity," Papers 2205.02164, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2023.
    5. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2015. "Wissens-Spillovers und regionale Entwicklung - welche strukturpolitische Ausrichtung optimiert des Wachstum?," Working Paper Reihe der AK Wien - Materialien zu Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft 144, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik.
    6. Belmartino, Andrea, 2022. "Green & non-green relatedness: challenges and diversification opportunities for regional economies in Argentina," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3697, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    7. Quatraro, Francesco & Scandura, Alessandra, 2020. "Regional patterns of unrelated technological diversification: the role of academic inventors," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 202001, University of Turin.
    8. Emelie Hane-Weijman & Rikard H. Eriksson & David Rigby, 2020. "How do occupational relatedness and complexity condition employment dynamics in periods of growth and recession?," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2011, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Mar 2020.
    9. Ron Boschma & Ernest Miguelez & Rosina Moreno & Diego B. Ocampo-Corrales, 2021. "Technological breakthroughs in European regions: the role of related and unrelated combinations," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2118, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jun 2021.
    10. Mealy, Penny & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2022. "Economic complexity and the green economy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    11. Wonsub Eum & Jeong‐Dong Lee, 2022. "Alternative paths of diversification for developing countries," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 2336-2355, November.
    12. Francisco Galuppo Azevedo & Fabricio Murai, 2021. "Evaluating the state-of-the-art in mapping research spaces: A Brazilian case study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(3), pages 1-27, March.
    13. O’Clery, Neave & Kinsella, Stephen, 2022. "Modular structure in labour networks reveals skill basins," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    14. Li, Yang & Neffke, Frank M.H., 2024. "Evaluating the principle of relatedness: Estimation, drivers and implications for policy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    15. Mealy, Penny & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2017. "Economic Complexity and the Green Economy," INET Oxford Working Papers 2018-03, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, revised Feb 2019.
    16. Lars Mewes & Tom Broekel, 2020. "Subsidized to change? The impact of R&D policy on regional technological diversification," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 65(1), pages 221-252, August.
    17. Yang Li & Frank Neffke, 2022. "Relatedness in regional development: in search of the right specification," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2208, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Apr 2022.
    18. Barbero, Javier & Diukanova, Olga & Gianelle, Carlo & Salotti, Simone & Santoalha, Artur, 2024. "Technologically related diversification: One size does not fit all European regions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    19. Stefan Apostol & Eduardo Hernández-Rodríguez, 2023. "Digitalisation in European regions: Unravelling the impact of relatedness and complexity on digital technology adoption and productivity growth," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2317, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Aug 2023.
    20. Jason Deegan & Tom Broekel & Rune Dahl Fitjar, 2021. "Searching through the Haystack:The Relatedness and Complexity of Priorities in Smart Specialization Strategies," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 97(5), pages 497-520, October.

    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:eee:enepol:v:167:y:2022:i:c:s0301421522002713. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    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.