Global warming is a direct consequence of the increasing CO_2 concentration in the atmosphere, which is caused by the abnormal increase in carbon emission levels. Such phenomenon has become a threat to the safety of living conditions. Many studies had proven that the increase in carbon emissions over the past century was mainly caused by human activities, but the factors currently known that contribute to carbon emissions are difficult to be mitigated. Therefore, further studies on the effect of economic development on carbon emissions might provide more feasible and efficient techniques for reducing carbon emissions. First, based on the framework of the effect of industrial structure on carbon emissions, the industrial structure determines the convergence of the equilibrium path of the regional economy and the final output. The final output and industrial structure influence carbon emissions simultaneously. The dynamic model shows that when higher energy intensity has a low share, its growth will dominate the overall regional carbon emissions. By contrast, when the lower energy intensity has a high share, its growth will lead the whole region to reduce carbon emissions. Second, an empirical analysis is performed to investigate the influence of industrial structure on global carbon emissions. Both the shares of the manufacturing and service industries positively affect carbon emissions. However, the influencing intensity of the service industry decreases along with an increasing share. Therefore, in the early stages of economic development, the rapid growth in the share of the manufacturing sector will increase the amount of carbon emissions; however, in the matured stages of economic development, the increasing share of the service sector and the declining share of the manufacturing sector will decrease the overall influencing intensity of these sectors. Third, an empirical analysis is conducted under different groups of countries according to the developing levels. All in all, compared with very-high-class group of countries, upgrading the industrial structure is a more efficient mitigating path in high- class and middle- class groups of countries. Meanwhile, adjusting the internal structure of their manufacturing and service sectors can inhibit the influencing intensities of different industries as well.