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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Exploring Spatial Disparities in Carbon
Emissions and Economic Development of
the Construction Industry: An Ecological
Carbon Footprint Perspective
1
Zhuhai College of Science and Technology, Zhuhai, 519000, China
Submission date: 2024-12-12
Final revision date: 2025-02-15
Acceptance date: 2025-03-04
Online publication date: 2025-06-05
Publication date: 2026-04-21
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2026;35(2):2885-2901
KEYWORDS
construction industry carbon emissionsecological carbon footprintTheil indexspatial autocorrelationregional disparities
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
This study systematically analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and regional
differences of carbon emissions and ecological carbon footprints in the construction industry based on
carbon emissions data from 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2021. Using decoupling models, Theil
index decomposition, and spatial autocorrelation methods, the study reveals the dynamic trend of carbon
emissions in the construction industry shifting from the eastern to the central and western regions.
The results show that the national carbon emissions have an overall fluctuating upward trend, with the
eastern region gradually achieving "strong decoupling", while the central and western regions primarily
exhibit "weak decoupling" or "expansive negative decoupling", highlighting significant regional
differences in green development capacity. The ecological carbon footprint analysis shows a notable
increase in carbon footprints in the central and western regions, with regional disparities being the main
source of overall differences. Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicates that high-high agglomeration
areas have gradually shifted from the east to the central and western regions, and the long-term presence
of low-high and high-low patterns reveals the reality of unbalanced regional development. The study
suggests promoting green building technologies and optimizing the energy structure in the central and
western regions, advancing regional collaborative emission reduction mechanisms, and improving the
low-carbon development assessment system to achieve the construction industry’s green transformation
and carbon neutrality goals.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
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