International trade, FDI (foreign direct investment) and embodied CO_2 emissions: A case study of Chinas industrial sectors

摘要

This paper calculates CO_2 emissions embodied in China's international trade using an input-output analysis, for the period 2000-2010. Based on industrial panel data, the two-step GMM estimation is used to test the impacts of FDI, trade openness, exports, imports and per capita income on CO_2 emissions. The results suggest that: (1) China's growing trade surplus is one of the important reasons for the rapidly rising CO_2 emissions; (2) large FDI inflows further aggravate China's CO_2 emissions; and (3) the industrial sector's per capita income and CO_2 emission relationship show inverted-U environmental Kuznets curve. Therefore, in order to achieve environmentally sustainable development of the economy, China should make efforts to transform its trade growth mode, adjust foreign investment structure, strengthen energy efficiency and develop a low-carbon economy.