Study On The Low-carbon Economic Performance Of Chinese Ports Based On DEA Model

With the warming of the climate,how to carry out the low-carbon transformation of ports has become an important issue of concern.Evaluating the low-carbon economy performance of ports is the premise of the low-carbon development of traditional ports.Multiple Data Envelopment Analysis（DEA）models are constructed in this research to evaluate the low-carbon economic performance of ports and provide references for the sustainable development of ports.The main research contents are as follows:（1）The evaluation model of port low-carbon economy performance with interval number is constructed.Considering the best case and the worst case,based on the interval number model and the limited interval model,the possible score interval and the final score of the port’s low-carbon economic performance were obtained.（2）The input congestion model of the port low-carbon economy is constructed.Based on the disposability and allocability of input variables,this research analyzes the input congestion that affects the low-carbon economy of ports from macro,micro,and resource reallocation aspects.（3）Construct the low-carbon economy performance evaluation model based on different weights.To analyze the relationship between the production activities inside the port and the performance of the low-carbon economy,a two-stage port system is defined based on the basic business of the port,and the interrelationship of each stage（operation stage and profit stage）is discussed.Then,financial indicators are introduced in the profit stage to assess the possible risks of the port in the low-carbon transition.Different weights are assigned to the operation stage and the profit stage,and the low-carbon economy performance evaluation model based on different weights is constructed.（4）Construct a low-carbon economic performance evaluation model considering cooperation and non-cooperation between ports.Specifically,the output of ports under different environmental policies and different CO₂ emission standards is simulated,and then the output loss of ports under cooperative and non-cooperative strategies is compared.This research collected data from 14 Chinese ports and 4 world advanced ports in the world during2017-2021 for empirical analysis.The main conclusions are as follows:（1）From 2017 to 2021,the Singapore port and the Shanghai port have the highest scores of low-carbon economic performance among all ports.Compared with advanced ports in the world,the low-carbon economic performance of Chinese ports is generally low.Among Chinese ports,the low-carbon economic performance scores of east China ports are higher than those of other regions.（2）There are input congestion problems in Beibu Gulf Port.The input congestion value of the port merger period is usually higher than that of the non-merger period.（3）By further decomposing the port’s low-carbon economic performance into operational performance and profit performance,it is found that among Chinese ports,Shanghai port has the most stable low-carbon economic performance,Shenzhen port has the worst stability,while northern ports in China have the highest financial risk value.The financial risk value of advanced ports in the world is generally lower than that of Chinese ports.（4）In the face of environmental regulation,inter-port cooperation can almost always effectively increase the desired regional output.However,when CO₂ emission standards are too strict,inter-port cooperation cannot improve regional low-carbon economic performance.The suggestions of this research include:（1）Chinese port managers should learn from the transformation experience of typical ports in developed countries during the low-carbon transformation of ports.While reducing emissions,port managers should also pay attention to the financial risks of ports.（2）Government environmental policy makers should scientifically establish port CO₂ emission standards.Too low or too high a standard will affect the port emission reduction effect or port economic development.（3）Regional cooperation of ports is one of the effective ways to improve the performance of low-carbon economy.Cooperation can improve the overall output of regional ports and encourage them to reduce emissions more.