Carbon Emission Characteristics and Decoupling Relationship in Typical Regions of the Yellow River Basin, China

Studying carbon emission patterns and their decoupling from economic growth on the basin scale is essential for achieving harmonized regional advancement and meeting carbon neutrality targets. To this end, we utilized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s carbon accounting methodology and Tapio decoupling model to quantify and evaluate the dynamics and decoupling relationship of carbon emissions within the Yellow River Basin of Henan Province (HYRB) spanning from 2010 to 2019. Key findings reveal: (1) HYRB's carbon emissions exhibited an initial rise followed by a subsequent decline from 2010 to 2019, peaking in 2013 at 13 837.5 × 10 4 t. Sectorally, energy consumption dominated (73.9%), followed by cement production (17.6%, peaking at 2683.3 × 10 4 t in 2014) and agricultural activities (8.5%). (2) Carbon intensity decreased by 50.4% with significant spatial heterogeneity. The Zhengzhou–Luoyang–Xinxiang urban cluster formed a high‐value agglomeration core (contributing 60.7%), resource‐based cities (e.g., Jiaozuo, Sanmenxia) exhibited prominent energy dependence, while Kaifeng and Puyang showed agricultural‐dominated emissions. (3) HYRB achieved a weak decoupling trend with the decoupling index for 2014–2019 (0.04) outperforming that for 2010–2014 (0.27), with distinct regional pathways. Five cities shifted to strong decoupling, while Puyang degraded to growth–connection (0.94) due to energy rebound effects. The study proposes differentiated strategies: core regions should enhance industrial–transport synergy, resource‐based cities accelerate energy substitution, and agricultural areas adopt low‐carbon technologies. This study provides a methodological framework for multisector carbon emission synergy analysis at the basin scale and offers scientific insights for designing carbon neutrality pathways in similar global regions.