China’s power industry’s carbon emission intensity in the context of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality: measurement and regional difference

Purpose To cope with the severe situation of the global climate, China proposed the “30 60” dual-carbon strategic goal. Based on this background, the purpose of this paper is to investigate scientifically and reasonably the interprovincial pattern of China’s power carbon emission intensity and further explore the causes of differences on this basis. Design/methodology/approach Considering the principle of “shared but differentiated responsibilities,” this study measures the carbon emissions within the power industry from 1997 to 2019 scientifically, via the panel data of 30 provinces in China. The power carbon emission intensity is chosen as the indicator. Using the Dagum Gini coefficient to explore regional differences and their causes. Findings The results of this paper show that, first, China’s carbon emission intensity from the power industry overall is significantly different. From the perspective of geospatial distribution, the three regions have unbalanced characteristics. Second, according to the decomposition results of the Gini coefficient, the overall difference in power carbon emission intensity is generally expanding. The geospatial and economic development levels are examined separately. The gaps between the eastern and economically developed regions are the smallest, and the regional differences are the source of the overall disparity. Research limitations/implications Further exploring the causes of differences on this basis is crucial for relevant departments to formulate differentiated energy conservation and emission reduction policies. This study provides direction for analyzing the green and low carbon development of China’s power industry. Practical implications As an economic indicator of green and low-carbon development, CO2 intensity of power industry can directly reflect the dependence of economic growth on the high emission of electricity and energy. and further exploring the causes of differences on this basis is crucial for relevant departments to formulate differentiated energy conservation and emission reduction policies. Social implications For a long time, with the rapid economic development, resulting in the unresolved contradiction between low energy efficiency and high carbon emissions. To this end, scientifically and reasonably investigating the interprovincial pattern of China’s power carbon emission intensity, and further exploring the causes of differences on this basis, is crucial for relevant departments to formulate differentiated energy conservation and emission reduction policies. Originality/value Third, considering the influence of spatial factors on the convergence of power carbon emission intensity, a variety of different spatial weight matrices are selected. Based on the β-convergence theory from both absolute and conditional perspectives, we dig deeper into the spatial convergence of electricity carbon emission intensity across the country and the three regions.