Spatial difference of regional carbon emissions in China

Jun Lv and Yang Zhou

Abstract

Pressure of China’s carbon emission reduction is huge, how to make effective carbon emission reduction policy based on carbon emissions’ spatial traits is one of most urgent problem Chinese government is faced with. This paper used Theil index to analyze spatial difference of carbon emissions among the east, central and west regions, and got that inter-regional difference is larger than infra-regional difference, and is the main cause of carbon emissions’ regional difference, both inter-regional and infra-regional difference got stable since 2006. Carbon emissions’ difference of the west region is biggest, the east region’s is smaller, the central region’s is smallest. Above results have practical meaning for making carbon emission reduction policy, making effective carbon emission reduction policy must consider carbon emissions’ spatial trait, strengthening “common but differentiated” duties, highlighting “fairness and efficiency”.