Hidden environmental inequality utility of renewable energy allocation across regions: evidence from China based on MRIO model analysis

The development of renewable energy is one of the key measures for China to realize the "dual-carbon goal". There are large differences in renewable energy resource endowments, power supply and demand in different regions of China, resulting in a pattern of cross-regional allocation of renewable energy. However, the cross-regional allocation of renewable energy will lead to the transfer of carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth between regions. The hidden environmental inequality utility here, i.e., the difference in the direction of the cross-regional transfer of CO₂ emissions and economic growth, will hinder the cross-regional allocation of renewable energy. This study constructs a multiregional input-output (MRIO) model for China, reveals the basic pattern of China's cross-regional electricity trading, and quantifies the hidden environmental inequality utility in China's cross-regional electricity trading. The results of this study show that the overall allocation of renewable energy across regions in China is relatively fair, but the environmental inequality effect is more prominent in the key regions (Central China), as well as in the key provinces (Qinghai, Beijing, and Gansu), which need to be tilted in favour of targeted policies.