Research on the Decoupling Relationship between CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth in Zhejiang Province

Abstract

Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are public commitments made by the Chinese government to the world, and they are also the inherent requirements for achieving high-quality economic development in China’s Provinces. On the basis of the data on Zhejiang Province from 2007 to 2019, this study employs the Tapio decoupling analysis method and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model to represent speed decoupling and quantity decoupling. Moreover, this research examines the decoupling relationship between Zhejiang Province’s carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emissions and economic growth. The analysis draws the following outcomes. (1) During the sample period, Zhejiang’s economic aggregate and carbon emissions continued to grow, and the economic growth rate was significantly higher than the growth rate of CO2 emissions. (2) The speed decoupling of CO2 emission and economic growth in Zhejiang Province was in good condition, with weak decoupling at the provincial level and weak decoupling and strong decoupling at the city level. (3) The EKC of Zhejiang Province was in the shape of an inverted “N”. From 2007 to 2019, Zhejiang’s per capita GDP was between the two inflection points. Moreover, no quantity decoupling occurred between CO2 emissions and economic growth.