Carbon dioxide emissions, urbanization level, and industrial structure: empirical evidence from North China

Abstract

This paper aims to examine the nexus among carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, urbanization level and industrial structure in North China over the period 2004-2019, according to an expanded Cobb-Douglas production function. The panel econometric techniques are employed to complete the empirical analysis, including cross-sectional correlation test, panel unit root test, panel cointegration test and panel Granger causality test. The empirical results support the long-term equilibrium relationship among CO 2 emissions, urbanization level and industrial structure in North China, and the urbanization level contributes most to CO 2 emissions, followed by fossil energy consumption. Furthermore, the bidirectional causality between CO 2 emissions and urbanization level and unidirectional causality from industrial structure to CO 2 emissions are found in North China, indicating that urbanization level and industrial structure have significant impacts on CO 2 emissions. Finally, according to the empirical findings, several policy suggestions are proposed for the purpose of reducing CO 2 emissions in North China.

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