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As urbanization has developed, a variety of urban clusters have gradually emerged with important effects on regional economic growth and carbon emissions. This paper constructs a multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) model for testing how urban cluster synergistic development policy (UCSDP) affects urban carbon productivity in 148 cities of China with 13 urban clusters as the experimental group from 2003 to 2019. According to the results, the UCSDP improves carbon productivity, mainly via reducing energy intensity. In addition, UCSDP improves carbon productivity by adjusting energy structure, increasing green innovation, altering city greening levels, and accelerating the process of urbanization. Moreover, it can produce synergistic effects in terms of energy structure, green innovation, greening level, and urbanization level. Furthermore, the UCSDP has heterogeneous effects on the carbon productivity in various cities. Specifically, the carbon productivity of high-status, high-rank, and resource-based cities responds more significantly to UCSDP. Therefore, policymakers should strengthen the integration of urban clusters, offer targeted development suggestions for different cities, modify the energy and greening structure, accelerate the process of urbanization, and focus on the formulation of reasonable environmental regulation policies. • Exploring the impact of UCSDP on carbon productivity with multi-period DID model. • The improvement of carbon productivity by UCSDP mainly comes from the decrease of energy intensity. • UCSDP increases carbon productivity by affecting energy structure, green innovation, greening level and urbanization level. • UCSDP produces synergistic effects in terms of energy structure, green innovation, greening level and urbanization level. • The impact of UCSDP on carbon productivity varies by city status, city rank and city type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy consumption has a strong driving force for promoting energy conservation and emission reduction, and is a new way to achieve clean and low-carbon development. Based on this, this paper uses the data of renewable energy consumption, carbon productivity, GDP, population, energy efficiency and technological innovation of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, and empirically analyzes the impact of renewable energy consumption on carbon productivity in 30 provinces in China, using STIRPAT model, comprehensively considers spatial horizontally and temporal vertically dimension. The empirical results show that: (1) China's carbon productivity shows a significant spatial spillover effect, its impact can spill over to adjacent areas within 1000 km; (2) China's renewable energy power consumption plays a significant role in promoting the improvement of carbon productivity. (3) Renewable energy consumption in the western region plays the most important role in driving carbon productivity. Finally, according to the temporal and spatial relationship between renewable energy consumption and carbon productivity in different regions, we provide specific regional policy suggestions. • The STIRPAT model is employed to explore temporal and spatial impact, while it considers sub regions. • Spatialy, the impact can spill over to adjacent areas within 1000km. Temporally, the impact fluctuates and rises. • The positive role of renewable energy consumption is found in China's western region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the international community's analysis of the present CO2 emissions situation, a Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition model is proposed in this paper, aiming to reflect the decomposition of carbon productivity. The model is designed by analyzing the factors that affect carbon productivity. China's contribution to carbon productivity is analyzed from the dimensions of influencing factors, regional structure and industrial structure. It comes to the conclusions that: (a) economic output, the provincial carbon productivity and energy structure are the most influential factors, which are consistent with China's current actual policy; (b) the distribution patterns of economic output, carbon productivity and energy structure in different regions have nothing to do with the Chinese traditional sense of the regional economic development patterns; (c) considering the regional protectionism, regional actual situation need to be considered at the same time; (d) in the study of the industrial structure, the contribution value of industry is the most prominent factor for China's carbon productivity, while the industrial restructuring has not been done well enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper identifies the main features of CO2 emission from fossil energy combustion in China. Then it estimates China''s future energy requirements and projects its CO2 emission from 2010 to 2020 based on the scenario analysis approach. China''s rate of carbon productivity growth is estimated to be 5.4% in the period 2005–2020, while the CO2 intensity of GDP will reduce by about 50% but CO2 emission in 2020 will still be about 40% higher than prevailing in 2005 because of rapid growth of GDP. This estimation is based on the assumption that China will implement a sustainable development strategy in consideration of climate change issues. The main objectives of the strategy are to implement an “energy conservation first” strategy, to develop renewable energy and advanced nuclear technology actively, to readjust the country''s economic structure, and to formulate and legislate laws and regulations, and to build institutions for energy conservation and development of renewable energy. It concludes that international measures to mitigate CO2 emission will limit world fossil fuel consumption. China is not placed to replicate the modernization model adopted by developed countries and has to coordinate economic development and carbon dioxide emission control while still in the process of industrialization and modernization. China has to evolve a low carbon industrialization model. This is the key to the success of sustainable development initiatives in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

By combining the extended slack based measurement (SBM) model directed distance function and the meta-constrained production function to measure China's carbon productivity, this paper studies the spatial spillover effects and convergence characteristics of carbon productivity. According to the results, carbon productivity showed obvious viscosity and spatial dependence in adjacent regions. China's carbon productivity had spatial conditional β-convergence and club convergence effects. Specifically, agglomeration externalities constituted an important mechanism for increasing carbon productivity and realizing the convergence thereof. Different agglomeration forms under different agglomeration degrees corresponded to different carbon productivity levels; with an increase in the degree of agglomeration, the emission reduction effect of specialized agglomeration diminished, while that of diversified agglomeration increased. Furthermore, depending on suitable agglomeration degrees, the emission reduction effect of specialized agglomeration could coexist with that of diversified agglomeration. In terms of regional distribution, in East China, both specialized agglomeration and diversified agglomeration presented relatively significant emission reduction effects. In contrast, in Central China and West China, only specialized agglomeration showed a weak emission reduction effect. • Carbon productivity shows obvious viscosity and spatial dependence in adjacent regions. • Agglomeration is an important mechanism for increasing carbon productivity. • Carbon productivity in China presents a typical "club" convergence. • Cross-regional cooperation in environmental governance should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rational implementation of environmental regulation and efforts to improve carbon productivity are the practical choices for China to address climate change. This paper mainly explores the correlations between environmental regulation and carbon productivity in China. The study first measures and analyzes carbon productivity and its changes. The results indicate that China's carbon productivity experienced several fluctuations during the study period. Overall, the carbon productivity is currently in a stable rising phase. According to the empirical research on the basis of the spatial spillover effect, a positive spatial correlation exists between carbon productivity in the different regions of China, and there is a threshold for the impact of environmental regulation on carbon productivity. As the intensity of environmental regulation changes from weak to strong, its effect on carbon productivity in local regions will be affected and change from negative to positive. Similar effects will be seen in neighboring regions. At present, the average intensity of China's environmental regulation has not yet reached this threshold. The eastern region's average intensity of environmental regulation is closest to its threshold, while the average intensities of the central and western regions are far from their respective thresholds. There is great potential to improve China's carbon productivity through the implementation of appropriate environmental regulations. • China's overall carbon productivity is currently in a stable rising phase. • China's carbon productivity has a significant positive spatial correlation. • The improvement of carbon productivity in local regions will also improve carbon productivity in neighboring regions. • There is a threshold for the impact of environmental regulation on carbon productivity in China. • The integral intensity of environmental regulation in China has not yet reached the threshold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]