Does the Environmental Kuznets Curve Exist in the Chinese Regions?

Abstract

This paper disentangles the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve across the Chinese regions as autonomous areas. First it makes use of the time-varying method to measure that strand for thirty Chinese regions over the period 1997–2012. The influence of income on CO2 emissions diminishes steadily from Western regions to Middle and Eastern regions. Lastly, we can observe that the validity of Environmental Kuznets Curve is exerted for one region, whilst the N-shaped curve is valid for the majority of the rest of the Chinese regions. © 2019, © 2019 Institute of East and West Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul.