Low-carbon development serves as a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development and a vital measure in addressing the global warming issue. Currently, road transport stands as the dominant mode of transportation with the largest carbon footprint in China. Facing the new normal of economic development, transport infrastructure enterprises must embark on a low-carbon transformation. The carbon emission intensity of these enterprises is intricately linked to their low-carbon behavioral decisions. The decision to mitigate pollution and reduce carbon emissions constitutes a costly and risky investment endeavor for transport infrastructure enterprises, often requiring non-independent decision-making. The coherence in carbon emission intensity among listed transport infrastructure companies bears implications on the green and low-carbon transformation of these enterprises.
This paper employs the OLS regression model, utilizing data from China's A-share transport infrastructure listed companies spanning 2012 to 2022. It constructs two primary models: one for testing the existence of cohort effects within transport infrastructure enterprises, and another for examining the moderating effects of these cohort effects. The analysis delves into the cohort effect of carbon emission intensity within China's transport infrastructure industry and its underlying influencing factors, while also investigating the contributors to the cohort effect on enterprises' carbon emission intensity. Additionally, the study examines the factors that give rise to the cohort effect in enterprises' carbon emission intensity.
Key findings reveal:① A significantly positive cohort effect is observed among transport infrastructure cohort enterprises at the 1% level, regarding carbon emission intensity. ② The geographical distance between the focal enterprise and cohort enterprises diminishes the cohort effect on carbon emission intensity within transport infrastructure enterprises. ③ Both environmental regulation and industry competition intensity, as moderating variables, amplify the cohort effect on enterprises' carbon emission intensity, with environmental regulation exerting a more pronounced influence.
Finally, based on the findings of this paper, the following insights emerge: ① Transportation infrastructure enterprises are effectively motivated to enhance their green and low-carbon performance through the cohort effect of carbon emission intensity, thereby guiding the industry towards high-quality, efficient green transformation and advancing China's carbon peaking and neutrality goals. ② Environmental regulation can serve as a catalyst for promoting the green transformation of transport infrastructure enterprises. The government can strengthen environmental regulations for enterprises, harnessing the cohort effect to encourage inter-enterprise collaboration, thereby reducing carbon emissions and facilitating low-carbon transformation. ③ When crafting low-carbon policies, the government can capitalize on the cohort effect of carbon emission intensity among transport infrastructure enterprises, fostering an inter-enterprise competition "snowball" effect and enhancing the efficacy of government oversight.
OzturkI, AcaravciA. CO2 emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Turkey[J]. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2010, 14(9): 3220-3225.
LiL N, LooB. Carbon dioxide emissions from passenger transport in China: Geographical characteristics and future challenges[J]. Geographical Research, 2016, 35(7): 1230-1242.
[4]
方航, 陈前恒. 社会互动效应研究进展[J]. 经济学动态, 2020(5): 117-131.
[5]
FangH, ChenQ H. Research progress on social interactions[J]. Economic Perspectives, 2020(5): 117-131.
[6]
ZhengS Q, KahnM E, SunW Z, et al. Incentives for China's urban mayors to mitigate pollution externalities: the role of the central government and public environmentalism[J]. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 2014, 47: 61-71.
[7]
GeelsF W. A socio-technical analysis of low-carbon transitions: introducing the multi-level perspective into transport studies[J]. Journal of Transport Geography, 2012, 24: 471-482.
LiuK, BaiY, WangC, et al. Study on the comprehensive carbon-emission assessment of infrastructure projects[J]. Environmental Science & Technology, 2017, 40(10): 185-190.
ChenY, ShiM Y, MaC S. Spatial and temporal evolution of coupling effect of carbon locking system in provincial transportation infrastructure[J]. Journal of Railway Science and Engineering, 2023, 20(3): 1127-1138.
XuH C, XuS, ZhangB Q. Research on the influence of transportation infrastructure on green total factor productivity based on the threshold effect[J]. Ecological Economy, 2020, 36(1): 69-73, 85.
LinX K, ZhangY, LuoZ Q, et al. Study on measuring method of vehicle carbon emission in expressway network[J]. Journal of South China University of Technology (Natural Science Edition), 2022, 50(9): 22-28.
ChenY, LiC, LiJ J. The carbon emission calculating model of the asphalt pavement construction machineries of highway[J]. Highway Engineering, 2019, 44(1): 140-144.
[20]
SternP C, SovacoolB K, DietzT. Towards a science of climate and energy choices[J]. Nature Climate Change, 2016, 6: 547-555.
WangL Q, YeQ Z, YeH L. The promotion path of carbon emission reduction in urban agglomeration transportation infrastructure system from a multi-level perspective[J]. Ecological Economy, 2023, 39(7): 86-92.
LiuX Y, YangM H, WuX T. Transportation infrastructure, industrial structure and agricultural carbon emissions[J]. Journal of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, 2022, 38(9): 1-16.
XueJ, ZhangM Q, XingY P. Fiscal pressure and environmental pollution: From the perspective of regional transportation infrastructure difference[J]. Soft Science, 2019, 33(3): 9-12.
ChenY W, MuJ. The Influence of peer effect, an Enterprise Violation, on the Operational Risk of Entity Departments[J]. Statistics & Decision, 2022, 38(11): 183-188.
[29]
EllisonG, FudenbergD. Rules of thumb for social learning[J]. Journal of Political Economy, 1993, 101(4): 612-643.
WangX, ChuX. Research on the peer group effect of green technology innovation in manufacturing enterprises: reference function based on multi-level situation[J]. Nankai Business Review, 2022, 25(2): 68-81.
LiQ M, LiangQ X. How does "transforming the economy from substantial to fictitious" spread? Based on the perspective of peer effects[J]. Journal of Finance and Economics, 2020, 46(8): 140-155.