What causes spatial inequalities of low-carbon development in China's transport sector? A newly proposed meta-frontier DEA-based decomposition approach

Highlights

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A new index to measure the inequalities of carbon intensity in China's transportation sector.

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Meta-frontier DEA-based decomposition approach was used.

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Carbon intensity inequalities of China's transport sector were decomposed into nine factors.

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Results show that PEI and production-related factors are the major contributors to transport carbon intensity inequalities.

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Production technology gap is the determinant factor for the inequality between eastern and western regions.

Abstract

This paper proposes a new index to measure the spatial carbon intensity inequality. To further explore factors causing the inequalities of carbon intensity, meta-frontier DEA-based decomposition approach is used in this study. Using this method, carbon intensity inequality of China's transport sector from 2004 to 2018 were decomposed into nine factors, including two newly proposed technological gap factors. Study shows that: (1) there are spatial inequalities in carbon intensity of China's transport sector, which peaked in 2009 and then decreased; (2) potential energy intensity, production technology gap, and production technology contributed the most to spatial inequalities of low-carbon development in Chinas transport sector, followed by pure production efficiency and energy structure. Energy-saving technology, energy technology gap, and pure energy efficiency contributed have relatively little impacts; and (3) production technology gap is the determinant factor for the transport carbon intensity inequality between eastern and western regions. The proposed approach can also be used for many other similar low-carbon development studies.