Carbon Productivity: Findings from Industry Case Studies in Beijing

Abstract

Simultaneously protecting the environment and promoting the economy are two critical dimensions for sustainable development. Carbon productivity is popularly used in assessing the environmental and economic efficiency over time, and is deemed as the appropriate indicator of sustainable development. Given the prominent contribution of energy consumption to sustainable development, this study incorporates energy consumption into the Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition model to explore the main factors influencing carbon productivity change. Based on the data from 19 industries in Beijing from 2013 to 2016, this study then reports the carbon productivities and their changes. Energy productivity change is the main cause of carbon productivity changes, and its correlation with carbon productivity change is significantly positive, whereas there is a weak correlation and no significant difference in energy consumption per unit of carbon emissions. Although the average carbon productivities in all 19 industries increased year over year in Beijing, the average level could be further promoted by improving energy productivity. The carbon productivities of the primary and secondary industries are less than the average, and far below the tertiary industry level. For the primary industry, increasing economic levels is conducive to improving carbon productivity; for secondary industry, reducing energy consumption and enhancing energy efficiency are most effective; and for tertiary industry, maintaining an outstanding performance will guarantee sustainable development in Beijing. This study has defined carbon productivity change from the energy consumption perspective and for the first time, comprehensively measured it for all industries in Beijing. The results are expected to assist these industries to essentially improve productivity performance and thus improve development sustainability.