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After the official launch of China's unified carbon market, the potential for carbon emission reduction is huge. The pilot regional markets urgently need to be connected with the national carbon market to form a regional synergy and linkage mechanism and further promote the development of a unified carbon market. Spillover effects can be used to analyze the interaction between multiple markets. In this context, this study focuses on the overall spillover relationship among regional carbon trading markets. Using the VAR-GARCH-BEKK model and social network analysis (SNA), this study empirically analyzes the mean spillover effect and volatility spillover effect of regional carbon markets, and it establishes a spillover network between markets. The results show that the spillover effect of China's regional carbon markets is widespread. Among them, the mean spillover effect is weak, and the impact period is short;. The volatility spillover effect is strong and has various directions; the spillover network connection between regional carbon markets is strong, but the spillover intensity is weak. Spillover effects will spread to the overall carbon market through information spillover paths and risk spillover paths. The stronger spillover effect and the stronger linkage between markets can bring more resource integration and unified supervision. Finally, we put forward policy recommendations, such as improving the carbon market mechanism and enhancing the maturity of carbon market development, increasing the participation and activity of the carbon market to encourage more participants to join the carbon market, improving the institutional system of the carbon market, and effectively supervising the process of information and risk spillover between carbon markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment is one of the major contributors to carbon emissions. The improvement in MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency is crucial for China to achieve its CO2 emission targets. Firstly, this study used the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model to calculate the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2019. The results show that the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in all provinces except Shanghai and Jiangsu is less than 1, and the provinces with high efficiency are mainly located in eastern China. Secondly, the spatial auto correlation model and spatial Markov chain are used to test the regional differences and the spatial spillover effect of efficiency. The results show that the national average efficiency shows a fluctuating downward trend, and only the western region achieves a gradual increase. The regional differences in China's MSW processing efficiency of carbon emissions show a fluctuating upward trend, and the regional background affects the spatiotemporal evolution pattern of the efficiency. Finally, the special error model was used to analyze the factors and influence paths that affect the efficiency, and to find that the degree of government intervention as an influencing factor that restricts the improvement of efficiency. Based on the research results, we put forward countermeasures and suggestions to improve the MSW treatment carbon emission efficiency in each province and the country as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The improvement in city-level carbon efficiency (CE) is crucial for China to achieve its CO2 emission targets. Based on the panel data from 2003 to 2017, total factor CE values of 283 prefecture-level cities were measured using the super-efficiency SBM model. Through the exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), we found that the average city-level CE from 2003 to 2017 showed a "W"-type growth trend. Additionally, there are significant spatial heterogeneity and spatial dependency characteristics of city-level CE. The results of local spatial correlation analysis showed that the Low–Low clusters are distributed in all cities of Shanxi and Northern Shaanxi, and gradually expand to Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, and Hebei over time, and the High–High clusters are mainly located in the southeast coastal cities and central and eastern Sichuan. High–Low clusters are generally scattered in cities with relatively superior political–economic status in Northeast China, North China, and Northwest China, and gradually concentrated in North China during 2003–2017. Additionally, the dynamic spatial econometric model was employed to investigate the influencing factors of CE, and we found that the city-level CE has the characteristic of path dependence on time. Factors such as industrial structure upgrading and environmental regulation have significant improvement effects on city-level CE, while technological progress, financial development, energy intensity, and government intervention can significantly inhibit city-level CE. Compared with short-term effects, the long-term effects are insignificant with higher absolute values, indicating the long-term persistence and gradual strengthening characteristics of driving factors on city-level CE; however, the acting long-term mechanism has not been formed. Additionally, the regional spillover effect of driving factors on CE is more significant in the short term. Based on the empirical results, some policy implications for cities to improve CE are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonation curing on steel slag is one of the most promising technologies for the iron and steel industry to manage its solid waste and carbon emissions. However, the technology is still in its demonstration stage. This paper investigates the market stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag for construction materials for its effective application by taking China as a case study. A holistic analysis of the competition, market size, and stakeholders of carbonation curing on steel slag was carried out through a literature review, a survey, a questionnaire, and interviews. The results showed that carbonation curing on steel slag had the advantages of high quality, high efficiency, low cost, and carbon reduction compared with other technologies. Shandong province was the most suitable province for the large-scale primary application of the technology. Stakeholder involvement to establish information platforms, enhance economic incentives, and promote adequate R&D activities would promote carbonation curing of steel slag into practice. This paper provides a reference for the commercialization of carbonation curing on similar calcium- and magnesium-based solid waste materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investment is an essential engine of economic growth and a major source of China's CO2 emission. It is therefore crucial to explore the gravity movement and decoupling state of China's CO2 emission embodied in fixed capital formation (FCF). This study aims to estimate China's CO2 emissions embodied in various categories of FCF by using input–output tables. The gravity model and Shapley decomposition method are used to explore the gravity movement and regional contributions for China's CO2 emissions embodied in FCF. Then, the Tapio decoupling model and logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method are combined to uncover the decoupling relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth embodied in FCF and the corresponding driving factors. The results show that China's CO2 emissions embodied in FCF experienced a rapid increase during 2002–2012 and remained almost stable during 2012–2017. The gravity center for CO2 emissions embodied in FCF moved toward northwest during 2002–2015, with the northwestern region and middle Yellow River region being the main engine regions. The relations between CO2 emissions and added values embodied in various categories of FCF were weak decoupling during 2002–2017. Investment scale was the major factor inhibiting the decoupling, while embodied energy intensity was the major factor promoting the decoupling. Finally, several policy recommendations are proposed based on these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the energy efficiency performance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries using a newly developed panel data stochastic frontier model that allows for estimation of both persistent and transient efficiency while controlling for random country effects and noise. By this, we contribute to the energy economic literature by providing a complete picture of the level of persistent, transient, and total energy efficiency estimates from a cross country perspective for a panel of 48 BRI countries during the period 1990–2015. Adding that there is little evidence to support energy efficiency convergence in the energy economic literature, we went further to check whether energy efficiency converges in the BRI countries. The results show that (1) persistent efficiencies are much lower than transient efficiencies, suggesting that the energy problem in the BRI countries is more of a structural issue; (2) while energy efficiency varies widely across the countries, high-income countries perform better than the lower-income countries; (3) there is evidence of efficiency convergence and it accelerates when trade increases, but decreases when the industrial sector increases. Based on these findings, we propose some policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]