Technology gap and regional energy efficiency in China's textile industry: A non-parametric meta-frontier approach Boqiang Lin a, b, * , Hongli Zhao a a College of Energy, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, PR China b Collaborative Innovation Center for Energy Economics and Energy Policy, China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, PR China article info Article history: Received 25 March 2016 Received in revised form 10 June 2016 Accepted 10 July 2016 Available online 11 July 2016 Keywords: Energy efficiency Non-parametric meta-frontier Technology gap DEA Alternative elasticity of energy abstract Based on the theory of total factor production, this paper analyzes energy efficiency in China's textile industry at the regional levels using non-parametric meta-frontier approach and a provincial panel data during the period, 2000e2012. We further analyze the regional differences in energy utilization tech- nology gap using the technology gap ratio. Irrespective of the frontier (meta or group), the empirical result depicts a tremendous energy saving potential in China's textile industry. Relative to meta-frontier, the average energy efficiency of China's textile industry is 0.673 during the sample period; hence, the energy saving potential is 32.7% if output remains unchanged. Relative to group frontier, the average efficiency of China's textile industry is 0.797, which may overestimate the true level of energy utilization. From the regional perspective, significant differences exist in energy technology within the textile in- dustry. During the sample period, the energy utilization technology gap ratio (TGR) of the Textile In- dustry in eastern China remains above 0.95 and it's steadily improving, approaching the optimum for the whole textile industry. Moreover, the textile industries in central and western China have improvement potentials of 19.6% and 27.4%, respectively. Finally, based on the results from the regional energy effi- ciency analysis, future policy priorities are suggested. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Energy is a powerful driver of social and economic development. With China's rapid development, the dependence of the economy on energy has obviously increased. Moreover, the issue of shortage of resources and energy has increasingly become a serious problem (Lin and Tian, 2016). To solve the energy source gap, we will depend more on the international energy market, which has not only affected China's energy security, but also has made the volatility of the international energy market a serious challenge to national stability (Lin and Ouyang, 2014). China's heavy consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum is a direct and major cause of national environmental deterioration (Xu and Lin, 2015). Therefore, to ease the conflict between economic growth and the environment, energy conservation and improvement in energy efficiency have become the inevitable choices at present and in the future (Lin and Du, 2013). The textile industry, well known as a traditional pillar industry in China, is an important sector of the national economy and in- ternational trade. Its role aids market growth, promote employ- ment, and increase the income of farmers; thus accelerating the process of urbanization and promoting social harmony. It is worth to note that China is the largest textile and garment producer and exporter in the world; sustainable growth of textile exports is therefore essential to ensure stable growth of China's foreign ex- change reserves, balance of international payments, and stability of exchange rate. Textile exports (in proportion to the total global textile export) increased from 10.3% in 2000 to 35.2% in 2012 (CEIC China Database, 2015). It can be said that the textile industry has developed rapidly since China's reform and opening up. In 2012, enterprises at national scale in industry had a total industrial output value of 4.7612 billion Yuan (approximately USD 764 million), up by 27.46% from a year earlier, and accounted for 6.58% of that of all designed size enterprises nationwide (CEIC China Database, 2015). * Corresponding author. Collaborative Innovation Center for Energy Economics and Energy Policy, China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361005, PR China. E-mail addresses: bqlin@xmu.edu.cn, bqlin2004@vip.sina.com (B. Lin). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Cleaner Production journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.055 0959-6526/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Journal of Cleaner Production 137 (2016) 21e28