Illuminating the efficiency of CO 2 emissions in China's mining sector: evidence from meta-frontier Malmquist index models

CO emission reduction has become a binding target in China's economic and social development. The mining industry is China's primary energy consumer and therefore has an important influence on China's CO emissions. Herein, we conduct a comprehensive analysis of data from the Chinese mining industry between 2004 and 2015. And we employ meta-frontier data envelopment analysis to analyse the CO emission efficiency of the Chinese mining industry and identify the driving factors that influence the observed dynamic changes in CO emission efficiency. The main practical conclusions of our research are as follows: (1) the CO emission efficiency of China's mining industry had grown continuously during the study period; (2) during the study period, the CO emission efficiency of China's mining industry did not change consistently with changes in different geographical regions; (3) the overall efficiency of management in China's mining sector was low; (4) the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in China's mining sector played a significant role in the improvement of the CO emission efficiency. The empirical results provide constructive policy implications that should be considered by the policy makers for the more sustainable development of China's mining sector.