[Relationship Between Carbon Emissions and Economic Development of Industrial Parks Based on Decoupling Index]

Industrial parks are the main carriers of industrial activities and are also key areas for carbon emissions. To deeply explore the decoupling state of carbon emissions and economic development of industrial parks and the driving forces, Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone were taken as example, based on the energy consumption data of industrial enterprises above a designated size from 2011 to 2020, the IPCC carbon emission accounting method, Tapio decoupling model, and logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition method were used to analyze the characteristics of carbon emissions from energy consumption in the park, the relationship between carbon emissions and economic development, and the driving factors of decoupling. The results showed that:① in terms of carbon emission characteristics, the carbon emissions of energy consumption in Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone were mainly indirect carbon emissions, and the total carbon emissions showed a trend of rapid growth in the early stage, slowing down in the medium term, and negative growth in the later stage. The carbon emission intensity was decreasing annually. ② From the perspective of decoupling, the decoupling index between total carbon emissions and economic development in Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone from 2011 to 2016 was 1.021, which was in a state of growth linkage, and the decoupling index decreased to 0.089 from 2016 to 2020, turning into a weak decoupling state. ③ From the analysis of driving factors, from 2011 to 2016, four factors, namely carbon emission coefficient, energy efficiency, industrial structure, and economic level, all had a restraining effect on the decoupling of carbon emissions in Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone, and from 2016 to 2020, they all turned into promotion except for the economic level. This study showed that among the factors for the decoupling of carbon emissions in the Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone, the economic level played a major inhibitory role, and energy efficiency played a major role in promoting it. The results of this study can provide a reference for the industry-city integrated industrial park represented by Zhengzhou Economic Development Zone to formulate corresponding carbon emission reduction policies and achieve the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.