The effects of technological factors on carbon emissions from various sectors in China—A spatial perspective

The modernization of the different economic sectors has drastically increased energy consumption and CO2 emissions in developing countries, leading to a literature stream on the relationship between technological progress and the carbon emissions from the various sectors. However, most related policies do not consider the diversity of technological sources. As such, this study develops a comprehensive model that combines the expanded stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) and the geographically and temporally weighted (GWTR) models to explore the spatial effects of three technology progress channels (research and development investment, technology spillover related to FDI, and DS) on the CO2 emissions in China from six sectors during 2000–2017. The results show that research and development investment has an inhibitory effect on the CO2 emissions from the agricultural, industrial, and wholesale sectors, and a catalytic effect for those from the construction, transportation, and residential sectors. The DS has a negative impact on the CO2 emissions from the agricultural, construction, and wholesale sectors, but a positive one for those from the industrial, transportation, and residential sectors. Finally, foreign direct investment has a positive effect on the CO2 emissions from all sectors (except for transportation). Therefore, this study shows that all the effects of the three technological progress channels on the carbon emissions from different sectors display spatial correlations and differences. In conclusion, policymakers should tailor policies to the various sectors in the different provinces.