Complex Network Analysis of Carbon Emission Transfers under Global Value Chains

Accompanied with the increasing complicated global value chain (GVC) networks is the carbon emission transfers among countries. Utilizing the complex network analysis alongside quadratic assignment procedure (QAP), this paper detects the community structure and influencing forces of the emission transfers under GVCs. The results imply that the bipolar structure of the network transformed gradually to tripolar owing largely to the surging of carbon emissions from China. Evidence on the existence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the emission transfers from high-income countries to low-income countries, and a U-shape relationship in the transfers in the reverse direction, suggesting that growing carbon emissions from both low- and high-income countries transferred to other high-income countries gradually. Gaps in technology, especially in patent applications, between source and destination countries played an important role therein. JEL: F14, F18, Q56, R15

Research on China’s Regional Economic Linkages: Based on the Analyses of Carbon Emission Transfers and Labor Mobility

In the face of the dual challenges of coordinated development of regional economy and sustainable development, strengthening the regional economic linkages is critical to realizing the coordinated development of the regional economy based on the reasonable transfer of carbon emissions. Under the background of industrial transfer, the authors used the inter-regional input–output model to measure the carbon emissions and labor transfers among 30 provinces in 2002, 2007 and 2010, analyzed the relationship between labor mobility and the spatial transfer of carbon emissions and introduced their scales and directions into a gravity model to measure the economic relations among regions. The results show that the embodied carbon emission tends to transfer from western and northeastern China to central and eastern China, which is consistent with the direction of labor mobility, and both of them show the feature of spatial clustering. Under the effects of carbon emission transfers and labor mobility, the radiation effects of the central node provinces in China such as Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hebei, Beijing, Henan and Gansu have given rise to the integrated regional spatial organizations of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, Yangtze River Delta Pan-Pearl River Delta and northwestern China, among which Yangtze River Delta and Pan-Pearl River Delta enjoy a relatively stable structure.

Interregional Transfer of Carbon Emissions and Shared Responsibility: A Review of Theory and Evidence

Addressing global climate change through obligation assignment of region-specific emissions reduction needs to measure not only direct carbon emissions of a particular region but also indirect carbon emissions, which are increasingly raised by interregional transfer of carbon emissions. With the literature on carbon emissions expanding substantially, emission transfers at both international and national levels have attracted a growing attention in the past years. This study provides an overview of the theoretical basis for, and empirical evidence on interregional emission transfers from three perspectives: transfer levels, transfer drivers and shared responsibility. We emphasize the contribution of such research to our understanding of global carbon emissions and regional responsibilities of emissions reduction. The discrepancies with previous studies are discussed in relation to the various theoretical arguments and empirical methods. Finally, based on the literature review, the study discusses theoretical and practical implications for scholars and practitioners, and highlights possible new directions for future research.