Inhibiting or Promoting? Urban–Rural Income Inequality and Carbon Emission Performance

Income inequality and carbon emission are two critical challenges that need to be solved to achieve SDGs. Unfortunately, few studies have explored the effect of urban–rural income inequality (URII) on carbon emission performance (CEP) from a holistic view that integrates local and adjacent hierarchies. Utilizing provincial data spanning from 2005 to 2021 in China, this paper examines the mechanism and influence of URII on CEP by using the spatial Durbin model and a mediating effect model. The results indicate that URII and CEP display significant spatial agglomeration characteristics. URII can inhibit the CEP, which also exerts a negative spatial spillover effect on CEP. URII can not only directly affect CEP but also indirectly influence it by increasing energy consumption and widening the urban–rural consumption gap. The negative effect of URII on CEP demonstrates regional variability, with a particularly prominent effect observed in the eastern region.