The impact of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative on the carbon intensity of the participating countries

The implementation of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative is important because of its potential impact on the carbon intensity of the countries involved. Taking panel data from 2000 to 2019, we use the synthetic control method to simulate and compare the pathways of carbon intensity. Our results show that the initiative reduces the carbon intensity of most countries, increasing however the carbon intensity of Cambodia, Brunei, Myanmar, and Turkey. The effect in Sri Lanka was not significant. Further, we introduce the propensity scores matching method to examine robustness and found that the sample quality improved after matching, suggesting that the initiative reduced carbon intensity. Our findings reveal that the Maritime Silk Road Initiative has contributed to the development of most involved countries and promoted a win–win situation for both economic growth and ecological awareness. The study makes valuable contributions to the understanding of the relationship between carbon emissions and economic development.