Urban carbon management is essential for global decarbonization. Cross-regional cooperation can support both economic development and carbon reduction. Using nine cities in Fujian Province as a case study, this study evaluates city-level carbon emissions and industrial structures and examines how regional low-carbon industrial synergy can promote economic growth, energy conservation, and carbon mitigation. The results indicate the following: (1) Carbon emissions in Fujian Province continue to increase, with energy consumption accounting for more than 82% of the total. Carbon emissions and carbon intensity are spatially imbalanced: coastal cities have higher total emissions but lower emission intensity. (2) Industrial development across the cities shows a clear gradient structure. The Xia-Zhang-Quan and Fuzhou metropolitan areas are centered on Xiamen and Fuzhou, respectively, and each has dominant industries. (3) Only the regional industrial low-carbon synergy scenario can reduce carbon emissions by more than 60% compared with 2021 levels and establish strong decoupling between carbon emissions and economic growth. Based on these findings, this study proposes a city-cluster-based pathway for regional industrial low-carbon synergy and develops a zoning and control system for low-carbon coordination. This framework provides a model for advancing carbon reduction and economic growth in parallel in developing countries, especially in other provinces and regions of China.
Zhao et al. (Mon,) studied this question.