China’s provincial total-factor air pollution emission efficiency evaluation, dynamic evolution and influencing factors

•A new indicator to evaluate total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is proposed.•China’s total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is relatively low and exhibits significant differences in different regions.•China’s total-factor air pollution emission efficiency is driven by technical progress rather than efficiency promotion.•The total-factor air pollution emission efficiency gap among China’s different provinces will probably widen in the future.•The factors that influencing China’s provincial total-factor air pollution emission efficiency are revealed.