School of Economics and Management, Chang'an University, Xi'an , 710064, Shaanxi, China.
School of Transportation Engineering, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710064, Shaanxi, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Oct;29(50):75851-75869. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-21101-4. Epub 2022 Jun 3.
The freight transport industry is an important field in which to achieve the goal of carbon emission reduction within the transportation industry. Analyzing the spatial-temporal characteristics and regional differences in the freight transport industry's carbon emissions efficiency (CEE) is an essential prerequisite for developing a reasonable regional carbon abatement policy. However, few studies have conducted an in-depth analysis of the freight transport industry's CEE from the perspective of geographic space. This study combines the super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model and the window analysis model to measure the freight transport industry's CEE in 31 Chinese provinces from 2008 to 2019. We then introduced a spatial autocorrelation analysis and the Theil index to analyze the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and regional differences in the freight transport industry's CEE in China. The results show that (1) the overall level of the freight transport industry's CEE is low, with an average of 0.534, which showed a weak downward trend during the study period. This indicates that the freight industry's CEE has not improved, and there is a massive requirement for energy conservation and emission reduction. (2) From 2008 to 2019, CEE gradually shows a spatial distribution pattern of being "low in the west and high in the east," with a significant, positive spatial correlation (all passed the significance level test at P < 0.01). This indicates that the spatial diffusion and inhibition of the freight transport industry's CEE in adjacent areas cannot be ignored. (3) The overall differences in the freight transport industry's CEE show a fluctuating upward trend from 2008 to 2019. The inter-regional differences of the three regions (east, central, and west) are the main contributors of the total differences. Therefore, narrowing inter-regional gaps in CEE is one of the main ways to improve the freight transport industry's CEE.
货运业是交通运输业实现减排目标的重要领域。分析货运业碳排放效率（CEE）的时空特征和区域差异，是制定合理区域减排政策的重要前提。然而，从地理空间角度深入分析货运业 CEE 的研究较少。本研究结合超效率松弛测度（SBM）模型和窗口分析模型，测算了 2008-2019 年中国 31 个省份的货运业 CEE，并采用空间自相关分析和泰尔指数分析了中国货运业 CEE 的时空演变特征和区域差异。结果表明：（1）货运业 CEE 整体水平较低，平均值为 0.534，研究期间呈微弱下降趋势，表明货运业 CEE 没有得到改善，节能减排要求较高。（2）2008-2019 年，CEE 逐渐呈现出“西部低、东部高”的空间分布格局，具有显著的正空间相关性（均通过 P < 0.01 的显著性水平检验），表明相邻地区货运业 CEE 的空间扩散和抑制不容忽视。（3）货运业 CEE 的总体差异呈波动上升趋势，从 2008 年到 2019 年。三个区域（东部、中部和西部）的区域间差异是总差异的主要贡献者。因此，缩小区域间 CEE 差距是提高货运业 CEE 的主要途径之一。
