Analysis on spatio-temporal differentiation and driving factors of carbon emission from energy consumption of mining industry in China

The low-carbon development of mining industry is the inherent requirement of the development of green mining industry and the realization of high-quality development of mining industry, and it is of great significance to carbon peak and carbon neutralization in the industrial field. Based on the provincial perspective, this paper uses the emission factor method to measure the CO₂ emissions of energy consumption in the mining industry from 2004 to 2020, and discusses its spatio-temporal differentiation and main driving factors by using Gini coefficient, Theil index and LMDI decomposition method. The results show that the total CO₂ emission of energy consumption in China’s mining industry is large and shows a trend of rising first and then decreasing, which mainly comes from coal mining, oil and gas mining industry and raw coal, natural gas and diesel consumption. CO₂ emissions per unit output value decreased at first and then increased, while CO₂ emissions per unit energy consumption decreased slowly. The regional distribution of emissions is uneven and different, mainly concentrated in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Sichuan and other regions; the emission differences have experienced an evolution process of rapid increase（2004-2005）→gradual reduction （2006-2013）→steady expansion（2014-2020）; the differences mainly come from within the four major regions, and the contribution of inter-regional differences is relatively small but continues to improve. The growth of output value is the main driving factor for the growth of carbon emissions in the industry, energy intensity is the key factor for emission reduction, and the effect of energy structure on emission reduction is weak. It is suggested to speed up the green transformation of industrial structure, improve the level of clean and efficient utilization of coal energy, further optimize the structure of energy consumption, focus on key areas and industries, speed up the research and application of advanced technology and equipment for comprehensive utilization, vigorously develop the mining circular economy and promote the construction of green mines, and strengthen the ecological protection and restoration of mines. This study can provide support and reference for green mine construction, mining low-carbon and high-quality development.