Analysis of Carbon Emission Reduction Efficiency and Driving Factors in China's Thermal Power Industry from a Multi-Dimensional Perspective

The power industry is the key to achieving the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. It is of great theoretical and practical significance to investigate the carbon emission reduction efficiency (CERE) of thermal power generation from the micro-perspective of power plants. Therefore, this study comprehensively employed multiple methods to conduct a thorough analysis of the CERE spatio-temporal characteristics and driving factors of 248 thermal power plants in China during the period from 2014 to 2021, from four dimensions of "time-space-resource allocation-driven forces". The results show that: (1) The CERE of China's thermal power plants show a fluctuating upward trend. And there are obvious characteristics of technological heterogeneity and spatial non-equilibrium. (2) The overall level of resource misallocation of China's thermal power plants shows the characteristics of fluctuation and decline, but there are obvious stage characteristics. (3) The CERE of China's thermal power plants is affected by the internal and external driving factors. Finally, based on the research findings, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to improve the CERE and alleviate the resource misallocation of thermal power plants.