Driving factors of carbon embodied in China's provincial exports

- We decompose carbon embodied in exports (CEE) in China's provinces.
- The total CEE and the CEE of 17 provinces decreased between 2007 and 2010.
- The global financial crisis decreases the scale effect in China's CEE evidently.
- The largest decrease in the total CEE is caused by input structural effect.
- The technique effect brings the second largest decrease in the total CEE.

In this paper, we use the multi-regional input-output model (MRIO) and logarithm mean Divisia index approach to analyze the changes in China's carbon embodied in exports (CEE) at the national and provincial levels. The results indicate that the total CEE and the CEE of 17 provinces, including all eastern provinces, decreased between 2007 and 2010. The largest decrease in total CEE is caused by an input structural effect, which decreases the CEE of most of the provinces. The technique effect arising from changes in provincial carbon intensities causes the second largest decrease in total CEE and it effectively reduces the CEE of most of the provinces, especially the eastern provinces. Changes in the export composition of most of the provinces also decrease the provincial CEE. A change in the provincial distribution of exports decreases the CEE in 11 provinces on the one hand and increases the CEE in 19 provinces on the other hand. A change in export volume increases the CEE of each province and the whole country, but its total effect is evidently lower than the input structural effect and the technique effect.