Can industrial collaborative agglomeration reduce carbon intensity? Empirical evidence based on Chinese provincial panel data

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 40; pp. 61012 - 61026
• Main Authors: Meng, Xiao-Na, Xu, Shi-Chun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agglomeration; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbon; Clustering; Collaboration; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic analysis; Economic models; Ecotoxicology; Emissions control; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Heterogeneity; Impact analysis; Information processing; Information technology; Longitudinal studies; Manufacturing; Research Article; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; China; Industrial collaborative agglomeration; Carbon intensity; Producer services; Threshold effect; Spatial Durbin model
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-20191-4

The collaborative agglomeration of manufacturing and producer services is an essential tool for the green transformation of China’s economic model. This paper explores the impact of industrial collaborative agglomeration on carbon intensity, using the spatial Durbin model (SDM) based on China’s provincial panel data from 2012 to 2019. The empirical results indicate that there is an inverted N-shaped relationship between industrial collaborative agglomeration and carbon intensity, with the turning points of 2.5255 and 2.8575. Regional industrial collaborative agglomeration tends to initially reduce carbon intensity, then aggravates to carbon emission, then finally inhibits carbon intensity. There is an obvious heterogeneity in the impact of producer-service subsectors and manufacturing collaborative agglomeration on carbon intensity. When the industrial collaborative agglomeration level exceeds a certain threshold, the clustering of information transmission, software and information technology service, and financial intermediation service have the greatest emission reduction potential. Industrial collaborative agglomeration has obvious spatial spillover effect, and carbon intensity has obvious spatial convergence effect. This paper provides some novelties for research perspectives on carbon intensity reduction and theoretical references for the development and implementation of differentiated industrial collaborative agglomeration policies.