Carbon Emission Reduction of Power Enterprises in Subtropical and Temperate Regions of China

摘要

China’s power enterprises consume a large amount of energy and emit a high quantity of carbon dioxide. To reduce carbon emissions and save energy, China has implemented various energy-saving and emission reduction (ESER) policies in the power industry. The purpose of this study is to analyze the carbon emission reduction (CER) performance and the ESER performance of China’s power enterprises. The data envelopment analysis was applied to obtain the CER efficiency and the ESER efficiency of power enterprises in subtropical and temperate regions of China. The research findings are as follows. First, the average ESER efficiency of Chinese power enterprises is lower than their CER efficiency. Second, only 30% of Chinese power enterprises have both high CER and ESER efficiency. Most power enterprises in China need to take measures to further reduce carbon emissions and improve the efficiency of resource utilization. Third, due to their high economic development and advanced use of technology, the CER efficiency of power enterprises in subtropical regions is higher than that in temperate regions. Based on empirical results, specific policy recommendations are provided for Chinese power enterprises.