Heliyon (Feb 2024)
Pathways to improving carbon emission efficiency in provinces: A comparative qualitative analysis based on the technology-organization-environment framework
Abstract
Achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are important issues for global climate governance. The study of carbon emission efficiency in China's provincial regions is of practical significance for the country to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Based on the framework of Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE), choosing technological progress, economic development, industrial structure, energy structure, energy prices, and carbon emission trading market as condition variables, collecting the panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2010 to 2020, the mixed study of Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) was used to explore the complex influence mechanism of carbon emission efficiency. The findings indicate: (1) none of the single conditions are necessary for the effect of carbon emission efficiency, but technology plays an important role in supporting the improvement of carbon emission efficiency. (2) There are four recipes for the improvement of carbon emission efficiency, which are summarized into four modes: Technology-Organization dual core modes, Environment core-Organization support modes, Technology-Organization-Environment linkage modes, and Organization core-Technology support modes. Among them, the recipe of Organization core-Technology support covers the largest number of provinces, indicating that for the developed provinces, it is necessary to accelerate technological innovation, make the deep integration of economic development and technological innovation, and promote the adjustment of the industrial structure, thereby improving the carbon emission efficiency (CEE). This study contributes to carbon emission efficiency literature by providing a new theoretical perspective based on the TOE analysis framework, and development strategies for provinces to optimize the combination according to their condition endowment.
