Gasoline to Diesel Consumption Ratio: A New Socioeconomic Indicator of Carbon Dioxide Emissions in China

• Main Authors: Zhe Li, Renjin Sun, Manman Qin, Dongou Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-07-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: environmental Kuznets curve; carbon dioxide emissions; gasoline to diesel consumption ratio; China
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/14/5608

In recent years, gross domestic product (GDP) has grown rapidly in China, but the growth rate of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions has begun to decline. Some scholars have put forward the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for CO₂ emissions in China. This paper utilized the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 1997 to 2016 to verify the EKC hypothesis. To explore the real reasons behind the EKC, the index gasoline to diesel consumption ratio (<i>GDCR</i>) was introduced in this paper. The regression results showed that CO₂ emissions and GDP form an inverted U-shaped curve. This means that the EKC hypothesis holds. The regression results also showed that a 1% <i>GDCR</i> increase was coupled with a 0.118186% or 0.114056% CO₂ emission decrease with the panel fully modified ordinary least squares or panel dynamic ordinary least squares method, respectively. This means that CO₂ emissions negatively correlate with <i>GDCR</i>. From the discussion of this paper, the growth rate reduction of CO₂ emissions is caused by the economic transition in China. As changes of <i>GDCR</i> can, from a special perspective, reflect the economic transition, and as <i>GDCR</i> is negatively correlated with CO₂ emissions, <i>GDCR</i> can sometimes be used as a new socioeconomic indicator of carbon dioxide emissions in China.