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eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
What Drives the Improvement of Carbon
Emission Efficiency of Chinese Cities?
1
Chengdu-Chongqing Double City Economic Circle Construction Research Institute Chongqing Technology
and Business University Chongqing 400067, China
2
School of Humanities Chongqing Metropolitan College of Science and Technology Chongqing 400067, China
These authors had equal contribution to this work
Submission date: 2025-08-07
Final revision date: 2025-09-22
Acceptance date: 2025-10-12
Online publication date: 2025-12-03
Corresponding author
Junzhang Li
Chengdu-Chongqing Double City Economic Circle Construction Research Institute Chongqing Technology and Business University Chongqing 400067, China
Chengdu-Chongqing Double City Economic Circle Construction Research Institute Chongqing Technology and Business University Chongqing 400067, China
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
A comprehensive evaluation of carbon emission efficiency (CEE) and identification of paths
to improve it are crucial for achieving sustainable development goals, yet existing studies have
limitations. This study employs the super-efficiency SBM model to measure the CEE of 284 Chinese
cities from 2003 to 2022 and uses qualitative comparative analysis to examine the driving paths for
improving CEE. The study finds that: (1) from the perspective of CEE measurement results, China’s
CEE shows a U-shaped trend from 2003 to 2022; (2) regarding the influencing factors of CEE, high CEE
is not driven by a single factor but by the combined effect of multiple factors, and the study identifies
three functional paths: the energy efficiency and industrial structure-driven path, the energy efficiency
and population density-driven path, and the energy efficiency, industrial structure, and population
density-driven path. This study provides new insights for the government to implement targeted policies
to promote the improvement of CEE.
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 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
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