Analysing the Impact Factors of CO2 Emissions in the Railway Operation Phase Based on STRIPAT Model in China

As the carbon neutrality and carbon emission peak are written into Chinese government work reports, CO2 emissions have attracted more attention. As a representative of green travel, railway transportation plays an important role in the construction of Chinese low-carbon comprehensive transportation system. This paper studies the impact factors of CO2 emissions in the railway operation phase, based on the statistical data of China Railway Statistical Bulletin from 2011 to 2024. A STIRPAT model is constructed to investigate the impact of electrified rate, amount of electric locomotive, freight volume, passenger volume, per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and comprehensive energy consumption per unit railway transportation on CO2 emissions. Considering the multi-collinearity among the six impact factors, the principal component analysis method and least square method are employed for regression analysis to study the influence level of CO2 emissions impact factors. We conclude that freight volume has a promoting effect on the CO2 emissions, while comprehensive energy consumption per unit railway transportation has the greatest inhibitory effect on CO2 emissions.