© 2018, The Author(s). Background: Science popularization resources development is an important means to improve public scientific literacy and has a crucial influence on the formation of public consumption habits, patterns and concepts, and ultimately on the energy consumption carbon footprint. Methods: Based on panel data from the provincial regions in China from 2010 to 2014, this paper measures the energy consumption carbon footprint in provincial regions using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methods and builds a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to evaluate the levels of science popularization resources development in provincial regions by using the global entropy method. Then, the mechanisms of influence on the energy consumption carbon footprint and the levels of science popularization resources development in the provincial regions of China are analyzed and measured. Results: The results showed that science popularization resources development could significantly lower the energy consumption carbon footprint; from 2010 to 2014, the lowering effect of science popularization resources development on the energy consumption carbon footprint in the major east, middle, and west provincial regions showed a weakening trend, with a greater lowering amplitude in the east than in the middle and west regions and narrowing spatial differences among them; at present, this influence works best in the west region followed by the middle and east regions. Conclusions: The results imply that we should give full attention to science popularization resources development to lower the energy consumption carbon footprint in China. In addition, focus should be given to the west region of China and construction mechanisms for science popularization resources that are built with flexible adoptions of means such as a combination of government guidance and market mechanisms, as well as joint construction by government and society.
