Spatio-Temporal Variations of CO2 emissions in China. Provincial Panel Data Analysis

This graduation work examines carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) from the perspective of energy consumption. The main purpose of the research is to investigate spatio-temporal variations as well as to clarify important factors that influence CO2 emissions in China. An extended STIRPAT model is used based on a provincial panel dataset for the period between 2005 and 2014. The data is retrieved from annual statistical publications such as China Statistical Yearbook and China Energy Statistical Yearbook. The research evaluates the global spatial autocorrelation, after that the spatial econometric models are estimated. The results suggest that there are three main impact factors of CO2 emissions: the economic structure, the level of urbanization and technology. the analysis shows the following (i) emissions are positively affected by the economic level; (ii) emissions are negatively affected by urbanization level and technology level. The work consists of an introduction, three main parts, conclusion, references and appendices.