Urban development and resource endowments shape natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities

Improving the efficiency with which natural resources are utilized is an indispensable for achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. By analyzing the utilization efficiency of energy, water, and land, we established a comprehensive natural resource utilization efficiency index (NRUEI). We then calculated the 2016 index for 165 cities in China, and investigated what caused it to vary. We found three main results: (1) the NRUEI varied greatly across China and there were significant positive correlations between urban energy utilization efficiency (EUE), water utilization efficiency (WUE) and land utilization efficiency (LUE); (2) the NRUEI showed a significant positive correlation with a city's population size, economy (Gross Domestic Product (GDP)), and the level of urban social development (GDP per capita); (3) cities in East China have the highest natural resource utilization efficiency, while cities in Northeast China have the lowest. These results indicate that China's increasing urban development is associated with rising natural resource utilization efficiency and that the city's endowment of natural resources is an important factor affecting that efficiency. Further, the results showed that the determinants of a city's NRUEI differed in large and small cities. Lastly, our results suggest that improving EUE is key for improving NRUEI in urban China, and different efficiencies can be improved intertwined. A major takeaway of this study is that there is great potential for improving natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities and we include city-specific suggestions for efficiency improvements.