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Many regions or countries seek to transition to a low-carbon economy, but there is ambiguity about how carbon emissions change with economic growth. This paper captures characteristics of carbon emissions in China using the Tapio Method. To detect driving factors of carbon emissions in economic growth, we adopt the Log-Mean Divisia Index decomposition method. The results of the paper are as follows: (1) Economic growth in most regions of China has outpaced the growth rate of carbon emissions, showing the characteristics of decoupling. (2) Metropolitan cities have a greater impact on the level of decoupling in neighboring provinces and municipalities. (3) The decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth is caused by declining energy intensity in China. (4) The energy mix and industrial structure have little impact on the growth rate of carbon emissions. In addition, some policy implications are summarized according to the findings of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the economic impacts of China's emissions trading system (ETS), implemented in 2013, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita GDP. The methodology drew on a difference-in-differences (DID) method using dynamic panel data for 30 provincial regions. The estimation results show that implementing an ETS policy has statistically significant negative effects on economic growth. When considering the additional control variables, these effects are still statistically significant. Furthermore, these negative impacts increase over time with respect to both GDP and per capita GDP. The counterfactual tests confirm the robustness of our DID estimation results. The specific influence mechanism of China's ETS policy was finally discussed. Our findings provide a quantitative decision-making support for popularizing ETS policy in China. Based on our DID model, empirical investigations of the ETS policy, especially concerning economic growth in other regions would produce prolific contributions to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the national urban housing reform in the 1990s, the Hangzhou Metropolitan Area in China has been experiencing a construction boom and an extraordinary growth of the residential building stock. Housing has made up an important part of the physical urban development and regional economic growth. The metropolitan area authorities aim to pursue sustainable housing development by adopting decoupling strategies emphasising efficient use of resources. However, in spite of these strategies, a study of Hangzhou's actual rates of decoupling between economic growth, housing sector growth and negative environmental impacts indicates only weak decoupling and a tendency of declining degrees of decoupling (if present at all) during the latest two decades. Limits of decoupling strategies for sustainable housing development are discussed in the light of these findings. The paper concludes with a recommendation to take growth containment into China's policies towards sustainable development, while at the same time guaranteeing a decent living standard among citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Numerous studies have examined the correlation between haze pollution and economic growth, but few have focused on the bilateral causality and spatial dependence of the relationship simultaneously. With a recent, large sample of 285 Chinese prefecture-level cities over the period from 1998 to 2016, the dynamic relationship between economic growth and PM2.5 concentration was investigated in China and different geographical regions via the generalized spatial three-stage least squares method (GS3SLS). In addition, the spatial spillover effects of PM2.5 concentration and economic growth were explored, and the socioeconomic factors of the feedback effects of haze pollution on economic growth were identified. The results indicate the following: (1) There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and haze pollution, and haze pollution can, in turn, inhibit economic growth; (2) haze pollution and economic growth have an obvious spatial spillover effect that closely links neighboring areas, such that haze pollution has a clear and significant positive spatial spillover, and the spatial effect of economic growth depends on the regional characteristics; (3) environmental regulation has significance in explaining the inhibitory effect of haze pollution on economic growth; and (4) heterogeneity by geographical region and urban agglomeration is observed in the relationship between haze pollution and economic growth. Therefore, it is urgent to control haze pollution and avoid oversimplified and crude environmental regulation measures that may damage economic growth. Multiregional joint governance, systematic environmental regulation and technical environmental regulation should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]