Influence of Urbanization and Foreign Direct Investment on Carbon Emission Efficiency: Evidence from Urban Clusters in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Reducing carbon emissions and realizing green, circular, and low-carbon development is essential for high-quality economic development. Following the construction of a superefficiency SBM model and combining the panel data of three major urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2003 to 2017, carbon emission efficiency was measured and analyzed. A spatial Durbin model (SDM) was incorporated to analyze the urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the impact of urbanization quality and foreign direct investment (FDI) on carbon emission efficiency. Finally, the SDM model was used to decompose the spillover effect. Generally, carbon emission efficiency in the three major urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is low, with regional differences. FDI only has a positive impact on the carbon emissions of the Yangtze River Delta and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Furthermore, urbanization and population density have led to high levels of carbon emission in the region; however, the industrial structure and energy intensity factors have inhibited the improvement of regional carbon emission efficiency. Improving the quality of urbanization and trade structure is important to achieve energy conservation and emission reductions, which are pillars of sustainable economic development.