Determinants of CO2 emissions and measurements of energy efficiency and energy intensity gap

Abstract

The sustainability of economic growth cannot surpass the capacity of resources and the environment, so reducing CO2 emissions and improving energy efficiency have always been a priority for developed and developing countries. In the thesis, the study has explored the CO2 emission determinants, agricultural energy efficiency, and energy intensity gap between governments and enterprises.

The determinants of CO2 emissions for the countries in Kyoto Protocol have been probed by using Bayesian LASSO regression. It is discovered that energy use and energy efficiency are the most important determinants for carbon dioxide emissions. Economic development and urbanization are two other factors impeding the attainment of emission goal.

Then the agricultural energy efficiency and the energy saving potential of emerging economies are evaluated by using stochastic frontier analysis with distance function. According to the classification of the continental and energy-input differences, energy efficiency in Europe is high but in Latin America it is low, and the quantity of energy saving potential in Asia is much more than Europe and Latin America. Additionally, urbanization, GDP per capita and the share of agricultural GDP are conducive for enhancing energy efficiency.

Finally, the k-means clustering based two-tier stochastic frontier model is adopted to analyze energy intensity gap between governments and enterprises in developed and developing countries in Kyoto Protocol. The results show that enterprises have greater effect on the energy intensity than governments. The net impact shows significant convergence after Kyoto Protocol took effect in 2005. The influence of governments and enterprises changes distinctively across the different groups of energy resource distribution, technology, economic growth and policy implementation.

Developing countries should promote renewable energy use and agricultural machinery automation to reduce the negative impact of urbanization and achieve a balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability. And the governments can use gradient pricing to encourage enterprises and residents to save electricity and heat. Moreover, government expenditure on education should be raised to mitigate CO2 emissions. And financing strategy can indirectly promote the reduction of CO2 emissions by increasing the number of energy-efficient patents, constructing public transportation infrastructure, and providing subsidies of electricity price and public transportation for poor families.