Abstract: The ecological footprint of lubricating oil refers to the area of forest and grassland used to absorb CO₂ emitted by the combustion of lubricating oil. Based on the carbon cycle, the ecological footprint of Chinese lubricating oil was calculated and the partial least-squares regression model was used to study the main driving factors affecting the ecological footprint of lubricating oil. The results showed that the ecological footprint of Chinese lubricating oil increased year by year from 2014 to 2019. The main driving factors affecting lubricating oil ecological footprint were civilian vehicle holdings and the secondary sector of the gross domestic product (GDP), and the ecological footprint of Chinese lubricating oil increased by 15.11% and 15.08% for each 1% increase in the number of civil cars and the GDP respectively. This was followed by crude oil processing, per capita disposable income of urban households, per capita consumption of urban households and per capita consumption of transportation and communication, all of which increased by 1%, the ecological footprint of lubricating oil increased by 14%. The least impact was the fuel price, which increased 1%, the ecological footprint of lubricating oil increased by 11.82%.

Key words: lubricating oil ecological footprint, carbon cycle, fossil energy land, partial least-squares regression