The linkage of CO2 emissions for China, EU, and USA: evidence from the regional and sectoral analyses

As economic integration in the world continues to advance, energy consumption and carbon emissions in various regions have also become increasingly interdependent. In order to better understand the regional interaction of carbon emissions, this paper employs a three-region input-output approach to explore the linkage of CO2 emissions among China, EU, and USA. Based on the world input-output table and environment account of World Input-Output Database (WIOD) in 2009, we calculate the carbon emission multiplier effect, spillover effect, and feedback effect and carry out the analysis from the regional and sectoral levels. The results show that, first of all, the carbon emission multiplier effect of each region is larger than the spillover and feedback effects. Second, EU and USA have higher carbon emission spillover effect on China than China’s carbon emission spillover effect on them. Finally, the carbon multiplier effects in different sectors have different characteristics.