To control the growth of CO₂ emissions and achieve the goal of carbon peaking, this study carried out a detailed spatio-temporal analysis of carbon emissions in major cities of China on a city-wide and seasonal scale, used carbon emissions as an indicator to explore the impact of COVID-19 on human activities, and thereby studied the urban resilience of different cities. Our research re-vealed that (i) the seasonal patterns of CO2 emissions in major cities of China could be divided into four types: Long High, Summer High, Winter High, and Fluctuations, which was highly related to the power and industrial sectors. (ii) The annual trends, which were strongly affected by the pan-demic, could be divided into four types: Little Impact, First Impact, Second Impact, and Both Impact. (iii) The recovery speed of CO2 emissions reflected urban resilience. Cities with higher levels of de-velopment had a stronger resistance to the pandemic, but a slower recovery speed. Studying the changes in CO2 emissions and their causes can help to make timely policy adjustments during the economic recovery period after the end of the pandemic, provide more references to urban resilience construction, and provide experience for future responses to large-scale emergencies.

China’s rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to significant and imbalanced CO₂ emissions, putting pressure on achieving sustainable development goals. This study analyzed the CO₂ emissions of 31 major cities in China from different sectors (total, power, industry, and transport) from 2019 to 2022. This study constructs a city-scale CO₂ emission correlation model to achieve nationwide and urban fine-scale research on CO₂ emission spatial networks from different sectors. This study revealed the following: (i) there is an increasing correlation among regions in China, and collaborative governance is crucial; (ii) there are differences in the structure, characteristics, and roles of CO₂ emission networks from different sectors; (iii) China’s CO₂ emission network is mainly concentrated in the northern and eastern regions, which play an important role in emission reduction; and (iv) the impact factors have different effects on CO₂ emissions from different sectors, and we should actively contribute to promoting emission reduction. Correctly understanding the spatial characteristics and influencing factors of CO₂ emissions can help us formulate targeted and efficient emission reduction policies.