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Decomposition analysis of the decoupling indicator of carbon emissions due to fossil energy consumption from economic growth in China

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Abstract

This study decomposed the indicator of decoupling of carbon emissions due to fossil energy consumption from economic growth in China via the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method to explore key factors influencing decoupling status in different periods. The decoupling indicator was decomposed into energy structure, energy intensity, economic structure, and economic output effects over each period. Decoupling varied due to changes in economic growth and energy intensity during different periods. The economic output effect significantly enhanced decoupling, while the energy intensity effect greatly decreased decoupling. The energy structure and economic structure effects had slight impacts on decoupling. A comparative analysis across different sectors and industrial subsectors revealed that industrial growth determined the status of decoupling of carbon emissions from economic growth in China. In terms of industrial subsectors, the major sources of carbon emissions were electricity, steam, and water production and other energy-intensive subsectors. The energy-intensive subsectors, such as coal mining and washing, petroleum and natural gas exploitation, and chemical manufacture, had great effects on the decoupling of carbon emissions, whereas non-energy-intensive subsectors, such as instruments, meters, cultural and office machinery, and ordinary equipment manufacture, had relatively slight impacts on the decoupling. Policy implications in terms of economic growth, economic structure, and energy consumption were discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2017XKQY100), China’s Postdoctoral Special Project (grant no. 2015 T80594).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management School, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Shi-Chun Xu, Wen-Wen Zhang, Hui-min Han, Ru-Yin Long & Hong Chen

  2. Commercial School, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, 221116, China

    Zheng-Xia He

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  1. Shi-Chun Xu
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  2. Wen-Wen Zhang
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Correspondence to Zheng-Xia He.

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Xu, SC., Zhang, WW., He, ZX. et al. Decomposition analysis of the decoupling indicator of carbon emissions due to fossil energy consumption from economic growth in China. Energy Efficiency 10, 1365–1380 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-017-9522-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-017-9522-7

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