CORRECTION article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1674735
An Empirical Study on the Evolution and Driving Factors of Energy- Related Carbon Emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt
Provisionally accepted
- 1Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao, China
- 2Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China
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This study analyzes energy-related carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2000 to 2022 using regional energy consumption data and IPCC guidelines. The Mann-Kendall trend test and mutation point detection methods are applied to examine emission trends and structural shifts. The Kaya identity and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) approach are used to decompose the impacts of energy structure, economic activity, population, and energy intensity on carbon emissions across subregions. The results show that since 2000, the growth rate of carbon emissions across the YREB has slowed significantly, with annual growth remaining below 2.5% since 2012. The energy mix has improved, with coal’s share decreasing from 77% to 69%, while natural gas and electricity’s combined share grew from 1% to 4%. Regionally, emissions in the Midstream reaches have peaked and are declining, while the Upstream reaches are nearing their peak. Although the Downstream reaches have not yet peaked, their emission growth has markedly decelerated. Overall, energy intensity and structural optimization have suppressed emissions, while economic growth and population expansion remain the dominant drivers. These findings highlight the need for continued optimization of both energy and industrial structures, with differentiated carbon reduction strategies tailored to each subregion’s unique characteristics and development stages within the YREB.
Keywords: carbon emissions, energy consumption, Energy structure, Influencing factors, Yangtze River Economic Belt
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 08 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhu, Liu, Chao, Zhang and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tao Zhang, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao, China
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