What determines the climate mitigation process of China's regional industrial sector?

As a major carbon emitter in China, the emission mitigation in industrial sector performs great significance for China to achieve its emission reduction targets. Using the provincial panel data during 2000-2016 of China's industrial sector, this paper first used a gravity model to study the spatial distribution and center of gravity of industrial CO₂ emissions. Then, an integrated decomposition approach based on Shephard distance functions was adopted to study the driving factors of industrial carbon intensity. Results indicate that during 2000-2016, industrial CO₂ emissions center of gravity gradually moved to the west. China's industrial carbon intensity achieved considerable decline, with the annual change rate of 8.27%. The energy intensity decline, technology progresses of both production and energy saving were the most important factors facilitating carbon intensity decline. However, energy structure adjustment exerted positive effects in carbon intensity increase, although its effects were minor. Industrial carbon intensity witnessed decrease in almost all provinces except Xinjiang. The effects resulted from various factors were also different across provinces. Finally, suggestions were proposed to further decrease industrial carbon intensity.