Industrial total factor CO2 emission performance assessment of Chinese heavy industrial province

Industry is the largest consumer of energy and CO 2 emission sector. Recognizing the heterogeneity of total factor CO 2 emission performances between various industrial sub-sectors is crucial for governments, to enable the compilation of effective industrial CO 2 emission reduction policies. To determine the CO 2 emission characteristics throughout the industry sectors, Liaoning province was selected as typical heavy industry province for analysis. Based on the input-output data of 37 industrial sub-sectors from 2003 to 2012, the industrial total factor CO 2 emission efficiencies and performances were analyzed through data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index. The results show that most sub-sectors have low total factor CO 2 emission efficiencies, which indicates that it is difficult for Liaoning’s industry to reduce carbon emissions. The total factor CO 2 emission performance of the overall industry declined by 1.85% per year during the study period; this decrease was mainly related to a lack in implementing technical changes. However, efficiency change showed a progressive trend. These findings indicate that to realize carbon reduction in heavy industry provinces within China, it is necessary to focus on expediting technical change.