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Challenges and opportunities for carbon neutrality in China
Abstract
China is currently the world’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2). China therefore has a key role in global climate change mitigation. Policies and commitments are required to enable decarbonization. In this Perspective, we summarize the key features of China’s CO2 emissions, its reduction processes and successes in meeting climate targets. China’s CO2 emissions reductions have been substantial: by 2020, carbon intensity decreased by 48.4% compared to 2005 levels, achieving objectives outlined in the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions and Nationally Determined Contributions. These reductions rely on the achievements of sectoral and sub-national targets outlined by China’s Five-Year Plans. However, China still faces the challenges of reaching its peak total CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. Key steps towards China’s carbon neutrality include increasing its non-fossil energy share, deploying negative-emission technologies at large scale, promoting regional low-carbon development and establishing a nationwide ‘green market’. To achieve these steps, top-down socio-economic development plans must coincide with bottom-up economic incentives and technology development.
... Carbon trading is also beneficial for the construction industry (Kukah et al., 2022a;Kukah et al., 2023). As a major source and contributor of carbon emissions globally, the construction industry faces challenges in achieving its carbon emission reduction targets Liu et al., 2022;Meena et al., 2022;Thompson et al., 2022). Carbon policies and carbon trading application to the industry are expected to aid the construction industry mitigate its GHG emissions (Lin and Jia, 2019). ...
... Carbon trading policies through institutions have led to carbon markets receiving a lot of attention as an effective measure of dealing with climate change (Seidu et al., 2023;Babon-Ayeng et al., 2022). As a major source and contributor of carbon emissions globally, the construction industry faces challenges in achieving its carbon emission reduction targets Liu et al., 2022;Meena et al., 2022;Thompson et al., 2022). Carbon policies and carbon trading application to the industry is expected to aid the construction industry reduce its GHG emissions (Lin and Jia, 2019). ...
Purpose
Carbon emissions trading is an effective instrument in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There is a notable scarcity of comprehensive reviews on the modelling techniques within carbon trading research in construction.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews 68 relevant articles published in 19 peer-reviewed journals using systematic search. Scientometric analysis and content analysis are undertaken.
Findings
Generally, China was the largest contributor to carbon trading research using quantitative models (representing 36% of the total articles). From the results, the modelling techniques identified were multi-objective grasshopper optimisation algorithm; system dynamics; interpretive structural modelling; multi-agent-based model; decision-support model; multi-objective chaotic sine cosine algorithm; optimised backpropagation neural network; sequential panel selection method; Granger causality test; and impulse response analysis. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of these techniques were identified. System dynamics was recommended as the most suitable modelling technique for carbon trading in construction.
Originality/value
This study is significant, and through this review paper, practitioners can easily be more familiar with the significant modelling techniques, and this will motivate them to better understand their uses.
... Expanding marine exclusion zones and controlling wastewater from industrialization to strengthen water quality 21 can help advance SDG14. For SDG17, establishing a comprehensive climate finance system to share the mitigation cost through mobilizing more social and international capital to participate in carbon emissions reduction, as well as expanding and improving the carbon trading scheme and carbon pricing policies 41,42 could counter the trade-offs of climate change mitigation. ...
... Advanced technologies (energy efficiency policy) and innovation in renewables (energy mix policy) are the critical backbone of carbon reduction 42,63 . Negative emissions in the past have been used as backup resources, which are anticipated to be an important pillar in a future carbon-neutral world 64 . ...
Climate mitigation policies have broad environmental and socioeconomic impacts and thus underpin progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through national-scale integrated modeling, we explore the spillover effects of China’s long-term climate mitigation pathways (CMPs) on achieving all 17 SDGs, and then identify a cost-effective CMP for China with co-benefits for sustainability. Our analysis indicates that the 9 original CMPs and 180 bundled CMPs can both substantially boost the SDGs, resulting in an increase of 6.33–8.86 and 5.90–9.33 points in overall SDG score (0=no progress, 100=full achievement) by 2060, compared to the Reference pathway of 70.75 points, respectively. The identified cost-effective CMP deals with the trade-offs among sustainability, CO2 emissions and mitigation cost, and maximizes the synergies between them. This CMP can inform future directions for China’s policy-makers to maximize the potential synergies between carbon neutrality and long-term sustainable development.
... China has set ambitious targets to achieve a carbon peaking by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2060 (i.e., dual carbon goal). However, the current rise in China's carbon emissions is attributed primarily to economic expansion, urban development, and enhanced living standards [34]. Obstacles include rising energy demands and CO2 emissions, a condensed timeline for achieving neutrality compared to developed nations, dependency on carbon-intensive energy sources, economic vulnerability, and underdeveloped low-carbon technologies [72]. ...
In the context of China's resolute advancement of dual carbon goals (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), urban agglomerations emerge as pivotal areas for carbon emission mitigation due to their dense economic activities and rapid urbanization. Previous studies overlook regional disparities in carbon emission prediction, disregarding the variations and policy directives across different provinces or cities. Therefore, this study addresses the research gap by investigating synergistic strategies to foster regional carbon peaking within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Employing a novel approach tailored to regional segmentation policies, we provide more accurate predictions reflecting real-world conditions and distinct policy landscapes. Meanwhile, we integrate carbon emission efficiency into our analysis, emphasizing the dual goals of emission reduction and quality economic growth. Our empirical investigation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, utilizing the Super-SBM and extended STIRPAT models, reveals upward trends in carbon emission efficiency, with varying trajectories across cities. Scenario simulations informed by the "14th Five-Year Plan" demonstrate that under the green development scenario, carbon peaking accelerates, alongside enhanced efficiency, supporting long-term emission reduction. Moreover, we design seven regional synergy carbon peak strategies for scenario simulations to facilitate the rational layout of dual carbon policies for collaborative development. We find that synergistic strategies have proven more effective in reducing regional carbon emission and increasing efficiency than strategies focusing solely on economic development or energy conservation. This innovative finding emphasizes the necessity of comprehensive green development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and provides strong evidence for policymakers. Our research contributes to targeted strategies for improving carbon emission efficiency and reducing emissions, emphasizing the importance of synergistic approaches for regional carbon reduction.
... China's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060 underscores the role of the energy sector in environmental sustainability [16]. Given that the majority of China's carbon emissions derive from energy production, particularly coal, achieving carbon neutrality necessitates a significant transformation of the energy sector [19]. This involves reducing coal consumption, increasing the share of renewable energy, and promoting energy-saving technologies [3,32]. ...
The introduction of the term “new quality productive forces” (NQPF) in China signals its move towards cutting-edge technologies and innovation as the new drivers of economic growth. As it shifts from labor-tensive sectors towards advanced industries, the energy sector is also expected to experience significant regime switch. This paper discusses how the new term articulated by the top leadership will reshape China’s energy sector including its labor, technology, critical resource supply, and the industrial value chain. The development of NQPF not only affects labor landscape and technology development, but also bring about significant change in the industrial value chain in China’s energy sector. I summarize that NQPF refers to high-tech driven, and sustainability-oriented productivity with more radical rather than incremental innovation. Overall, the energy sector is the key domain for creating NQPF for high-quality economic growth and the new forces act as a significant catalyst in transforming the energy sector towards achieving green, low-carbon, and sustainable development.
... In the past few years, the government has put forward the goal of achieving "carbon peak" by 2030 and "carbon neutrality" by 2060. At the same time, a nationwide ecological governance of national land space will be carried out to optimize the ecological environment and land use structure, adjust the economic development mode and energy consumption structure, reduce carbon emissions, and increase ecological CS, so as to accelerate the realization of the goal of "dual-carbon" and the optimization of territorial spatial ecological governance [10]. Quantitative assessment of future changes in sustainability can help policy makers make more scientific decisions on economic development strategies [11]. ...
Based on the perspective of conflict of interest between low-carbon ecology and economic and social development, this study explores the change mechanism of land use cover change (LUCC) and carbon storage (CS) in the context of “Dual-Carbon” goal and territorial spatial ecological governance, which is of great significance to optimize the construction path of “Dual-Carbon” goal and formulate low-carbon, ecological, high-quality, and sustainable economic and social policies in the urban areas. An integrated framework based on the System Dynamics model, the Patch Generation Land Simulation model, and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs model was constructed to dynamically simulate the LUCC demand and CS of Wenzhou under four scenarios in 2035, and to analyze the spatial evolution mechanisms of LUCC and CS. The main results of the study show that in the Natural Development Scenario (NDS) and High-speed Urbanization Scenario (HUS), the expansion mechanism is similar, and the area of woodland decreases greatly, which is mainly caused by the rapid expansion of construction land and cultivated land. Under Low-carbon and High-quality Development Scenario (LHDS) and Ecological Safety Governance Scenario (ESGS), woodland and grassland increased significantly, mainly because low-carbon and ecological governance policies strengthened ecological land protection and limited construction land control. By 2035, the prediction results show that LHDS has the highest CS (2.231 × 10⁵ kt), followed by ESGS (2.226 × 10⁵ kt), NDS (2.191 × 10⁵ kt), and HUS (2.142 × 10⁵ kt). The range of increase and decrease was 0.189, −0.149, −1.676, −3.692%, and only in LHDS, CS increased by 42.05 kt. Therefore, in order to achieve the “Dual-Carbon” goal, Wenzhou needs to prioritize the combination of LHDS and ESGS to formulate relevant policies.
... Gu et al. (2023) [24] and Tan et al. (2023) [25] believed that the development of the digital economy reduced the intensity of carbon emissions by promoting the upgrading of industrial structures and improving the quality of green innovation. The study by Liu et al. [26] (2022) showed that the promotion of digital innovation reduces carbon emissions, but introducing technology is not an ideal approach. Moreover, as innovation capabilities improve, the impact becomes more significant. ...
... To effectively stem this devastating trend, countries worldwide have taken action together by making carbon neutrality commitments [4][5][6] . As of 2023, at least 137 countries have committed to the target vision through all-round net-zero emissions by the middle of this century, of which 124 countries are scheduled by 2050 [7,8] . China, the largest developing country and the major carbon-emitting country, also made its own commitment at the United Nations General Assembly in 2020, with a carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 [9] . ...
In the current global economic downturn and energy transition period, how to better coordinate the differences in carbon emission footprints among sub-regions has become an emerging issue. With the Gini decomposition method, social network analysis, and difference-in-differences estimation, this study explores the spatial differentiation of China’s province-level carbon emission footprint from 2000 to 2021. The findings of this study indicate that: (1) The Gini-based carbon emission footprint index shows an overall upward trend, revealing the constantly expanding differences among provinces. By comparison, the crude oil difference between the low-carbon pilot and non-pilot provinces is evident, reaching more than 0.15; (2) The carbon emission footprint spatial correlation network structure shows strong spillover characteristics. Provinces with higher network centrality have better structural holes, maintaining closer relationships with surrounding provinces. Those pilot provinces have a comparative advantage regarding social network position, as they have more effective mutual node connections; and (3) China’s low-carbon pilot policy can effectively reduce carbon emissions, with a certain reduction effect of -17.433 in comparison. Industrial rational transformation and green innovation performance are essential in this emission reduction process. At the crossroads of sustainable development, it will be incredibly beneficial to speed up the green transformation by enhancing the coordinated development of regional characteristics.
... C limate change has become a globally recognized focal point, drawing extensive attention from governments and the international community. In 2020, China introduced the "dual-carbon" goals, committing to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 (Liu et al. 2022). This vision presents significant opportunities and challenges for China's energy structure transformation. ...
As China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry shifts from policy-driven to market-oriented development, understanding post-purchase satisfaction and its driving factors becomes imperative. This study compiled objective product attributes and consumer online reviews for 1321 EV models from China’s largest automotive website, Autohome, covering the period between 2014 and 2022. By employing data mining and sentiment analysis (SA) techniques, this research extracted consumers’ overall satisfaction with EVs and identified the subjective product attributes that garnered the most attention in consumer online comments. Utilizing a machine learning (ML)—SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) framework, the research pinpointed the most impactful objective and subjective product attributes on consumer satisfaction and ranked their impact intensity both statically and dynamically. The findings reveal that Chinese consumers are generally satisfied or very satisfied with their EVs. From a static perspective, distinctive objective product attributes of EVs, such as total motor power and range, play a crucial role in influencing consumer satisfaction. In terms of subjective product attributes, aspects like space, design, handling, and comfort are the most captivating to consumers and significantly shape their satisfaction. However, the dynamic analysis indicates that range anxiety persists, despite gradually increasing consumer satisfaction as the EV market matures. Additionally, price remains a crucial factor, particularly following the widespread implementation of subsidy withdrawal policies, making it the most sensitive factor for EV consumers. This study represents the first application of an explainable artificial intelligence framework to quantify the marginal impacts of various automotive product attributes on consumer satisfaction.
... Given that China is the world's largest producer of marine capture fisheries and mariculture (FAO, 2022) and a major source of carbon emissions (Liu et al., 2022), understanding the role of its marine fisheries in contributing o to climate change is crucial for meeting the country's 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon neutrality goals. Notably, over half of the relevant studies in this area focus on China, indicating significant global attention. ...
Climate change presents profound challenges to marine ecosystems and fisheries, necessitating effective management and adaptive strategies. Simultaneously, marine fisheries exacerbate climate change by emitting greenhouse gases through fuel combustion and electricity consumption. This article reviews 142 studies on the bidirectional interactions between climate change and marine fisheries (ICCMF), utilizing bibliometric methods including co-occurrence network analysis, cluster analysis, and conceptual framework analysis to identify research trends, challenges, and gaps. The bibliometric analysis reveals an explosive growth in publications and patents related to ICCMF since 2020. The key themes in ICCMF research encompass: (a) the impacts of climate change on marine fisheries, (b) the contribution of marine fisheries to climate change, (c) stakeholder perceptions and responses to climate change, and (d) adaptive management strategies for climate-resilient fisheries. Notably, recent studies have increasingly focused on carbon emissions and carbon sinks in marine fishery industries, emphasizing the need for further research into carbon reduction practices to mitigate climate change. This review identifies several challenges, including geographical disparities, knowledge inequality, "parachute science" and "helicopter research," issues with data quality and management, and inadequate capacity to adapt to climate change. Key research gaps include the limited representation of perspectives from the Global South, the absence of sustained partnerships, imbalances in research collaboration, restricted data accessibility and reliability, and an inadequate understanding of fisheries' carbon emissions. This review provides valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders, highlighting the need for strategic management approaches to mitigate adverse impacts and promote marine ecosystem sustainability.
... Leveraging CCUS technologies to mitigate fossil fuel-related CO 2 emissions is imperative for China to advance its net-zero-carbon transition goals. Moreover, given the carbon lock-ins of China's industrial systems (Liu et al., 2022b), particularly in emission-intensive sectors such as steel and cement production that are difficult to decarbonize in the short term via fuel substitutions or new technologies, CCUS holds promise for the meaningful decarbonization of China's industrial sectors (IEA, 2020). ...
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) can help transition the world toward net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, despite the uncertainties restricting growth in these investments. Existing studies on real options-based CCUS phased investments show subjectivity when specifying investment phases and primarily focus on the overall performance of technological advancements while neglecting the heterogeneity of technologies in different CCUS production chains. To advance robust investment in CCUS projects in China, this study develops a compound real options model to assess a two-phase investment approach encompassing fluctuating oil and carbon prices and variable learning rates for different CCUS production chains. A full-chain million-ton-scale CO2-enhanced oil recovery project worth CNY 582 million was used in a numerical simulation to examine the impact of investment scale and timing on the project’s value and CO2 mitigation. Results indicate that under a scenario with a moderate technological learning rate, phased investment increases the project value by at least 1.83% (490 million CNY) versus a lump-sum investment, and also reducing CO2 mitigation by up to 21.9% (3.31 Mt). As the first-phase investment share grows from 10 to 90%, the timing of both phases is delayed but total project value rises. Faster technological learning advances the timing of both first- and second-phase investments and increases CO2 abatement. Higher carbon prices and lower maintenance costs catalyze CCUS deployment. Such findings can assist governments and investors in formulating robust investment policies and decisions for CCUS in China, advancing the country’s low-carbon transition.
... To elucidate the nature of the charge-transfer processes within CoTCPc@p-CTF-py, DFT and constrained DFT (CDFT) calculations at the MN15 35 level of theory were performed (see Fig. 5, S30-S32 and Supplementary Information for further details) 1 Co I ] -) in an exothermic step (ΔE = −0.76 eV). ...
The selective photoreduction of CO2 in aqueous media based on earth-abundant elements only, is today a challenging topic. Here we present the anchoring of discrete molecular catalysts on organic polymeric semiconductors via covalent bonding, generating molecular hybrid materials with well-defined active sites for CO2 photoreduction, exclusively to CO in purely aqueous media. The molecular catalysts are based on aryl substituted Co phthalocyanines that can be coordinated by dangling pyridyl attached to a polymeric covalent triazine framework that acts as a light absorber. This generates a molecular hybrid material that efficiently and selectively achieves the photoreduction of CO2 to CO in KHCO3 aqueous buffer, giving high yields in the range of 22 mmol g⁻¹ (458 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and turnover numbers above 550 in 48 h, with no deactivation and no detectable H2. The electron transfer mechanism for the activation of the catalyst is proposed based on the combined results from time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, in situ spectroscopies and quantum chemical calculations.
... In response to the overwhelming socioeconomic consequences of rising CO2 levels [8], numerous countries have announced long-term initiatives for carbon neutrality and a net-zero carbon vision in accordance with the Paris Agreement [9]. As the world's leading emitters of CO2, the United States and China are committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and 2060, respectively [10,11]. Both countries are working to modify their old energy consumption patterns to develop low-carbon economies and achieve their decarbonization targets [12]. ...
China’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2060 relies on the Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, with forestation targets designed to enhance carbon removal. However, the exact sequestration potential of these initiatives remains uncertain due to differing accounting conventions between national inventories and scientific assessments. Here, we reconcile both estimates and reassess LULUCF carbon fluxes up to 2100, using a spatially explicit bookkeeping model, state-of-the-art historical data, and national forestation targets. We simulate a carbon sink of −0.24 ± 0.03 Gt C yr⁻¹ over 1994–2018 from past forestation efforts, aligned well with the national inventory. Should the official forestation targets be followed and extended, this could reach −0.35 ± 0.04 Gt C yr⁻¹ in 2060, offsetting 43 ± 4% of anticipated residual fossil CO2 emissions. Our findings confirm the key role of LULUCF in carbon sequestration, but its potential will decline if forestation efforts cease, highlighting the necessity for emission reductions in other sectors to achieve carbon neutrality.
Previous research has lacked a comprehensive study of the coupling and connections between China’s four major energy-intensive industries: electricity, steel, cement, and coal chemicals, which contribute to over 65% of China’s total carbon emissions and significantly impact the path to achieving China’s carbon peak. To address this gap, we developed a detailed energy-carbon integrated model, which include three scenarios: Business As Usual (BAU), Peak Oriented Scenario (POS), and Neutrality Oriented Scenario (NOS). Then, we analyzed the carbon emission trends in the four industries and assessed the contribution of key technologies to emission reductions. Our findings indicate that under the BAU, POS, and NOS, the carbon emissions will peak in 2030, 2025, and 2022, respectively, with peak values of 8.56, 8.06, and 7.81 billion tons. Raw material structure adjustments account for over 50% of carbon reductions in both the POS and NOS. Cleaning technology substitution and energy-saving technology collectively contribute to 10–20%. Therefore, cleaning fuels and raw materials and developing decarbonization technologies should be the main direction of future efforts, which will facilitate a timely carbon peak and lower peak value, aligning with global efforts to achieve the carbon reduction targets set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.
Bu çalışma küresel ölçekte hızla büyüyen Çin'in mevcut ve geleceğe yönelik enerji politikalarını, yenilenebilir ve temiz enerji çerçevesinde değerlendirerek, bu politikaların ülke ekonomisine ve dış politikasına etkisini incelemektedir. Çalışmada öncelikle çevreye dost enerji politikaları, yenilenebilir ve temiz enerji çerçevesinde kavramsal değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Çalışmanın devamında enerji arz güvenliği kapsamında Çin’in enerji politikası incelenmiş olup, çevre dostu enerji kaynaklarının Çin’in toplam enerji üretim ve tüketimi içerisindeki payı analiz edilmiştir. Devamında Çin'in çevreye dost enerji noktasındaki politikalarının gelişimi, uluslararası iş birlikleri, enerji geliştirme stratejisi bağlamında değerlendirilerek, gelinen noktada enerji sektörlerinin ülke ekonomisine katkısı tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışmada Çin'in mevcut politikaları ile yenilenebilir enerjide dünya lideri konumunu koruyacağı ve 2060'a kadar karbon ayak izini silme yönündeki hedeflerini gerçekleştireceği ortaya konmuştur.
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This study evaluates the current and future energy policies of China, which has grown rapidly on a global scale, within the framework of renewable and clean energy, and examines the impact of these policies on the country's economy and foreign policy. First of all, environmentally friendly energy policies are conceptually evaluated within the framework of renewable and clean energy in the study. In the continuation of the study, China's energy policy is examined within the scope of energy supply security, and the share of environmentally friendly energy resources in China's total energy production and consumption is analyzed. In the continuation, the development of China's environmentally friendly energy policies, international cooperation, and energy development strategy are evaluated in the context of the contribution of energy sectors to the country's economy at this point. The study reveals that China will maintain its position as a world leader in renewable energy with its current policies and will achieve its goals of eliminating its carbon footprint by 2060.
Xinjiang is a representative dry area in China characterized by oasis agriculture. In recent decades, the amount of farmland has increased considerably. For the regional objectives of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”, it is essential to investigate the carbon effects induced by large-scale changes in farmland. This research integrates the PLUS and InVEST models to calculate the carbon effects resulting from the spatiotemporal changes in farmland distribution in Xinjiang. It quantitatively assesses the changes in land-use patterns and carbon storage under four scenarios for 2035—natural development (ND), economic development (ED), ecological protection (EP), and farmland protection (FP)—and explores the spatial agglomeration degree of the carbon effect of cultivated land area change. The analysis reveals the following: (1) From 1990 to 2020, the farmland area in Xinjiang showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, resulting in a total increase of 33,328.53 km2 over the 30-year period. The newly added farmland primarily came from grassland and unused land. (2) The terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage in Xinjiang showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing, with an increase of 57.49 Tg in 30 years. The centroid of carbon storage was located in the northwestern part of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, showing an overall southwestward shift. Changes in farmland area contributed to a regional carbon storage increase of 45.03 Tg. The contribution of farmland to carbon storage increased by 3.42%. (3) In 2035, the carbon storage value of different scenarios will increase compared with 2020, and the carbon sink of cultivated land will be the maximum under the cultivated land protection scenario. (4) There is a strong spatial positive correlation between the changes in carbon storage caused by the change in cultivated land area in Xinjiang, and there are more hot spots than cold spots. The carbon storage changes under farmland transformation have the characteristics of “high-high” clustering and “low-low” clustering. Future territorial spatial planning in Xinjiang should comprehensively coordinate ecological protection and farmland conservation measures, improve regional carbon sink capacity, and achieve green and sustainable development.
Rechargeable aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) are regarded as viable alternatives to lithium-ion battery technology because of their high volumetric capacity, low cost, and rich abundance of aluminum. With the exploitation of...
China is one of the major contributors to global environmental degradation. In the twenty-first century, China has become the main emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). This contribution is mainly due to its high economic growth rate of over 8% per year between 1979 and 2022, which has generated positive effects, such as the elimination of extreme poverty by 2020 and, to a lesser extent, containing the advance of income inequality. However, it has affected the natural resources, and contributed to climate change (CC), displacing the United States as the planet’s main polluter in 2005. This chapter analyzes the Chinese response to the international community and its actions related to climate change. The main conclusion is that what this nation achieves in the next 75 years of this century, will be determinant in the global fight against climate change.
Purpose
This study aims to deepen our understanding of how conventional technologies and robust accounting education standards can impact the effectiveness of green accounting practices in enhancing firm performance. To achieve this, the paper explores the moderating effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and accounting education quality on the relationship between green accounting and firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Using generalized method of moments estimation, this research uses a comprehensive dataset comprising 32,680 firm-year observations of listed companies from ten prominent countries – Canada, the UK, the USA, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea and Italy – over the period from 2012 to 2022. These countries, selected based on their high gross domestic product rankings as reported by the International Monetary Fund, ensure a diverse representation of economic strengths and capture a wide range of green accounting practices.
Findings
The study shows that green accounting practices positively impact current firm performance. Country-level AI positively moderates this relationship, suggesting that advanced AI infrastructure enhances the benefits of green accounting through improved data accuracy and decision-making. However, country-level accountancy education quality negatively moderates the relationship, indicating that stringent implementation of green accounting standards in these regions may introduce complexities and costs that reduce firm performance.
Practical implications
Integrating AI enhances data processing, predictive analytics and decision-making, improving green accounting effectiveness. High-quality accounting education ensures accurate reporting and greater transparency. These insights, when applied, can empower businesses to optimize sustainability strategies, assist policymakers in developing targeted regulations and guide educators in preparing accountants for the evolving demands of green accounting.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the combined moderating effects of AI and accounting education quality on the relationship between green accounting and firm performance. By highlighting the synergistic role of digital innovation and robust educational standards, this research offers novel insights into how these factors can enhance the effectiveness of green accounting practices and improve financial outcomes.
Heteroatom doping is the most common means to enhance the Li⁺/Na⁺ ions storage of hard carbon (HC). The explanation of the storage mechanism of heteroatom‐doped HC is to increase the active site or widen the layer spacing while ignoring the effect of local bending structure induced by it. Meanwhile, the storage mechanism by the localized bending structure also lacks in‐depth study. Herein, a locally curved configuration and an amorphous structure are designed by introducing different heteroatoms, respectively, and the mechanism of the two types of structures on the Li⁺/Na⁺ ions storage is explored. The density functional theory (DFT) calculation shows that the adsorption energy of Li⁺/Na⁺ ions is optimal at the appropriate curvature of 27.72 m⁻¹. Serving as anode for lithium/sodium ion batteries in ester electrolytes, the optimized HCs demonstrate satisfied specific capacity and high‐rate capability, respectively. Furthermore, the charging capacity below 1.0 V of HC with suitable curvature microstructure reaches 84.8% and 90.1% of the total charge capacity, confirming that the curvature defects can better control the delithiation/desodiation process, and provide a higher energy density. This study enlightens new insights into the storage mechanisms of Li⁺/Na⁺ ions and provides guidance for better design of heteroatom‐doped carbon anodes with superior performance.
Monitoring China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is essential for formulating effective carbon cycle policies to achieve carbon peaking and neutrality. Despite insufficient satellite observation coverage, this study utilizes high-resolution spatiotemporal data from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2), supplemented with various auxiliary datasets, to estimate full-coverage, monthly, column-averaged carbon dioxide (XCO2) values across China from 2015 to 2022 at a spatial resolution of 0.05° via the deep forest model. The 10-fold cross-validation results indicate a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.95 and a determination coefficient (R²) of 0.90. Validation against ground-based station data yielded R values of 0.93, and R² values reached 0.81. Further validation from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Reanalysis dataset (CAMS) produced R² values of 0.87 and 0.80, respectively. During the study period, CO2 concentrations in China were higher in spring and winter than in summer and autumn, indicating a clear annual increase. The estimates generated by this study could potentially support CO2 monitoring in China.
Because of the alkaline nature and high calcium content of cements in general, they serve as a CO2-absorbing agent through carbonation processes, resembling silicate weathering in nature. This carbon uptake capacity of cements could abate some of the CO2 emitted during their production. Given the scale of cement production worldwide (4.10 Gt in 2019), a life-cycle assessment is necessary to determine the actual net carbon impacts of this industry. We adopted a comprehensive analytical model to estimate the amount of CO2 that had been absorbed from 1930 to 2019 in four types of cement materials, including concrete, mortar, construction waste, and cement kiln dust (CKD). In addition, the process CO2 emission during the same period based on the same datasets was also estimated. The results show that 21.02 Gt CO2 (95 % confidence interval, CI: 18.01–24.41 Gt CO2) had been absorbed in the cements produced from 1930 to 2019, with the 2019 annual figure mounting up to 0.89 Gt CO2 yr-1 (95 % CI: 0.76–1.06 Gt CO2). The cumulative uptake is equivalent to approximately 55 % of the process emission based on our estimation. In particular, China's dominant position in cement production or consumption in recent decades also gives rise to its uptake being the greatest, with a cumulative sink of 6.21 Gt CO2 (95 % CI: 4.59–8.32 Gt CO2) since 1930. Among the four types of cement materials, mortar is estimated to be the greatest contributor (approximately 59 %) to the total uptake. Potentially, our cement emission and uptake estimation system can be updated annually and modified when necessary for future low-carbon transitions in the cement industry. All the data described in this study, including the Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis results, are accessible at 10.5281/zenodo.4459729 (Wang et al., 2021).
Global- and national-scale inventories of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are important tools as countries grapple with the need to reduce emissions to minimize the magnitude of changes in the global climate system. The longest time series dataset on global and national CO2 emissions, with consistency over all countries and all years since 1751, has long been the dataset generated by the Carbon Dioxide Information and Analysis Center (CDIAC), formerly housed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The CDIAC dataset estimates emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacture, by fuel type, using the United Nations energy statistics and global cement production data from the United States Geological Survey. Recently, the maintenance of the CDIAC dataset was transferred to Appalachian State University, and the dataset is now identified as CDIAC-FF. This paper describes the annual update of the time series of emissions with estimates through 2017; there is typically a 2- to 3-year time lag in the processing of the two primary datasets used for the estimation of CO2 emissions. We provide details on two changes to the approach to calculating CO2 emissions that have been implemented in the transition from CDIAC to CDIAC-FF: refinement in the treatment of changes in stocks at the global level and changes in the procedure to calculate CO2 emissions from cement manufacture. We compare CDIAC-FF's estimates of CO2 emissions with other global and national datasets and illustrate the trends in emissions (1990–2015) using a decomposition analysis of the Kaya identity. The decompositions for the top 10 emitting countries show that, although similarities exist, countries have unique factors driving their patterns of emissions, suggesting the need for diverse strategies to mitigate carbon emissions to meditate anthropogenic climate change. The data for this particular version of CDIAC-FF are available at 10.5281/zenodo.4281271 (Gilfillan et al., 2020a).
Direct air capture (DAC) can provide an impactful, engineered approach to combat climate change by removing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the air. However, to meet climate goals, DAC needs to be scaled at a rapid rate. Current DAC approaches use engineered contactors filled with chemicals to repeatedly capture CO 2 from the air and release high purity CO 2 that can be stored or otherwise used. This review article focuses on two distinctive, commercial DAC processes to bind with CO 2 : solid sorbents and liquid solvents. We discuss the properties of solvents and sorbents, including mass transfer, heat transfer and chemical kinetics, as well as how these properties influence the design and cost of the DAC process. Further, we provide a novel overview of the considerations for deploying these DAC technologies, including concepts for learning-by-doing that may drive down costs and material requirements for scaling up DAC technologies.
More than half of current coal power capacity is in China. A key strategy for meeting China’s 2060 carbon neutrality goal and the global 1.5 °C climate goal is to rapidly shift away from unabated coal use. Here we detail how to structure a high-ambition coal phaseout in China while balancing multiple national needs. We evaluate the 1037 currently operating coal plants based on comprehensive technical, economic and environmental criteria and develop a metric for prioritizing plants for early retirement. We find that 18% of plants consistently score poorly across all three criteria and are thus low-hanging fruits for rapid retirement. We develop plant-by-plant phaseout strategies for each province by combining our retirement algorithm with an integrated assessment model. With rapid retirement of the low-hanging fruits, other existing plants can operate with a 20- or 30-year minimum lifetime and gradually reduced utilization to achieve the 1.5 °C or well-below 2 °C climate goals, respectively, with complete phaseout by 2045 and 2055.
Drylands are an essential component of the Earth System and are among the most vulnerable to climate change. In this Review, we synthesize observational and modelling evidence to demonstrate emerging differences in dryland aridity dependent on the specific metric considered. Although warming heightens vapour pressure deficit and, thus, atmospheric demand for water in both the observations and the projections, these changes do not wholly propagate to exacerbate soil moisture and runoff deficits. Moreover, counter- intuitively, many arid ecosystems have exhibited significant greening and enhanced vegetation productivity since the 1980s. Such divergence between atmospheric and ecohydrological aridity changes can primarily be related to moisture limitations by dry soils and plant physiological regulations of evapotranspiration under elevated CO2. The latter process ameliorates water stress on plant growth and decelerates warming- enhanced water losses from soils, while simultaneously warming and drying the near- surface air. We place these climate- induced aridity changes in the context of exacerbated water scarcity driven by rapidly increasing anthropogenic needs for freshwater to support population growth and economic development. Under future warming, dryland ecosystems might respond non- linearly, caused by, for example, complex ecosystem–hydrology–human interactions and increased mortality risks from drought and heat stress, which is a foremost priority for future research.
Though highly motivated to slow the climate crisis, governments may struggle to impose costly polices on entrenched interest groups, resulting in a greater need for negative emissions. Here, we model wartime-like crash deployment of direct air capture (DAC) as a policy response to the climate crisis, calculating funding, net CO2 removal, and climate impacts. An emergency DAC program, with investment of 1.2–1.9% of global GDP annually, removes 2.2–2.3 GtCO2 yr–1 in 2050, 13–20 GtCO2 yr–1 in 2075, and 570–840 GtCO2 cumulatively over 2025–2100. Compared to a future in which policy efforts to control emissions follow current trends (SSP2-4.5), DAC substantially hastens the onset of net-zero CO2 emissions (to 2085–2095) and peak warming (to 2090–2095); yet warming still reaches 2.4–2.5 °C in 2100. Such massive CO2 removals hinge on near-term investment to boost the future capacity for upscaling. DAC is most cost-effective when using electricity sources already available today: hydropower and natural gas with renewables; fully renewable systems are more expensive because their low load factors do not allow efficient amortization of capital-intensive DAC plants. Governments may struggle to impose costly polices on vital industries, resulting in a greater need for negative emissions. Here, the authors model a direct air capture crash deployment program, finding it can remove 2.3 GtCO2 yr–1 in 2050, 13–20 GtCO2 yr–1 in 2075, and 570–840 GtCO2 cumulative over 2025–2100.
Air pollution reduction policies can simultaneously mitigate CO2 emissions in the industrial sector, but the extent of these co-benefits is understudied. We analyse the potential co-benefits for SO2, NOx, particulate matter (PM) and CO2 emission reduction in major industrial sectors in China. We construct and analyse a firm-level database covering nearly 80 observations and use scenario simulations to estimate the co-benefits. The findings show that substantial co-benefits could be achieved with three specific interventions. Energy intensity improvement can reduce SO2, NOx, PM and CO2 emissions for non-power sectors by 26–44%, 19–44%, 25–46% and 18–50%, respectively. Reductions from scale structure adjustment such as phasing out small firms and developing large ones can amount to 1–8%, 1–6%, 2–20% and 0.2–3%. Electrification can reduce emissions by 19–25%, 4–28%, 20–29% and 11–12% if the share of electricity generated from non-fossil fuel sources is 70%. Since firm heterogeneity is essential to realize the co-benefits and directly determines the magnitudes of these benefits, stricter and sensible environmental policies targeting industrial firms can accelerate China’s sustainable transformation.
Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere in a changing climate – the “global carbon budget” – is important to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe and synthesize data sets and methodology to quantify the five major components of the global carbon budget and their uncertainties. Fossil CO2 emissions (EFOS) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, while emissions from land-use change (ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on land use and land-use change data and bookkeeping models. Atmospheric CO2 concentration is measured directly and its growth rate (GATM) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) and terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) are estimated with global process models constrained by observations. The resulting carbon budget imbalance (BIM), the difference between the estimated total emissions and the estimated changes in the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere, is a measure of imperfect data and understanding of the contemporary carbon cycle. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ. For the last decade available (2010–2019), EFOS was 9.6 ± 0.5 GtC yr-1 excluding the cement carbonation sink (9.4 ± 0.5 GtC yr-1 when the cement carbonation sink is included), and ELUC was 1.6 ± 0.7 GtC yr-1. For the same decade, GATM was 5.1 ± 0.02 GtC yr-1 (2.4 ± 0.01 ppm yr-1), SOCEAN 2.5 ± 0.6 GtC yr-1, and SLAND 3.4 ± 0.9 GtC yr-1, with a budget imbalance BIM of -0.1 GtC yr-1 indicating a near balance between estimated sources and sinks over the last decade. For the year 2019 alone, the growth in EFOS was only about 0.1 % with fossil emissions increasing to 9.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr-1 excluding the cement carbonation sink (9.7 ± 0.5 GtC yr-1 when cement carbonation sink is included), and ELUC was 1.8 ± 0.7 GtC yr-1, for total anthropogenic CO2 emissions of 11.5 ± 0.9 GtC yr-1 (42.2 ± 3.3 GtCO2). Also for 2019, GATM was 5.4 ± 0.2 GtC yr-1 (2.5 ± 0.1 ppm yr-1), SOCEAN was 2.6 ± 0.6 GtC yr-1, and SLAND was 3.1 ± 1.2 GtC yr-1, with a BIM of 0.3 GtC. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 409.85 ± 0.1 ppm averaged over 2019. Preliminary data for 2020, accounting for the COVID-19-induced changes in emissions, suggest a decrease in EFOS relative to 2019 of about -7 % (median estimate) based on individual estimates from four studies of -6 %, -7 %, -7 % (-3 % to -11 %), and -13 %. Overall, the mean and trend in the components of the global carbon budget are consistently estimated over the period 1959–2019, but discrepancies of up to 1 GtC yr-1 persist for the representation of semi-decadal variability in CO2 fluxes. Comparison of estimates from diverse approaches and observations shows (1) no consensus in the mean and trend in land-use change emissions over the last decade, (2) a persistent low agreement between the different methods on the magnitude of the land CO2 flux in the northern extra-tropics, and (3) an apparent discrepancy between the different methods for the ocean sink outside the tropics, particularly in the Southern Ocean. This living data update documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new global carbon budget and the progress in understanding of the global carbon cycle compared with previous publications of this data set (Friedlingstein et al., 2019; Le Quéré et al., 2018b, a, 2016, 2015b, a, 2014, 2013). The data presented in this work are available at 10.18160/gcp-2020 (Friedlingstein et al., 2020).
Limiting the rise in global mean temperatures relies on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and on the removal of CO2 by land carbon sinks. China is currently the single largest emitter of CO2, responsible for approximately 27 per cent (2.67 petagrams of carbon per year) of global fossil fuel emissions in 2017¹. Understanding of Chinese land biosphere fluxes has been hampered by sparse data coverage2–4, which has resulted in a wide range of a posteriori estimates of flux. Here we present recently available data on the atmospheric mole fraction of CO2, measured from six sites across China during 2009 to 2016. Using these data, we estimate a mean Chinese land biosphere sink of −1.11 ± 0.38 petagrams of carbon per year during 2010 to 2016, equivalent to about 45 per cent of our estimate of annual Chinese anthropogenic emissions over that period. Our estimate reflects a previously underestimated land carbon sink over southwest China (Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces) throughout the year, and over northeast China (especially Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces) during summer months. These provinces have established a pattern of rapid afforestation of progressively larger regions5,6, with provincial forest areas increasing by between 0.04 million and 0.44 million hectares per year over the past 10 to 15 years. These large-scale changes reflect the expansion of fast-growing plantation forests that contribute to timber exports and the domestic production of paper⁷. Space-borne observations of vegetation greenness show a large increase with time over this study period, supporting the timing and increase in the land carbon sink over these afforestation regions.
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting human activities, and in turn energy use and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Here we present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different sectors based on near-real-time activity data. The key result is an abrupt 8.8% decrease in global CO₂ emissions (−1551 Mt CO₂) in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The magnitude of this decrease is larger than during previous economic downturns or World War II. The timing of emissions decreases corresponds to lockdown measures in each country. By July 1st, the pandemic’s effects on global emissions diminished as lockdown restrictions relaxed and some economic activities restarted, especially in China and several European countries, but substantial differences persist between countries, with continuing emission declines in the U.S. where coronavirus cases are still increasing substantially.
The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research provides emission time series from 1970 until 2019 forfossil CO2 for all countries.
This report is contributing to the Paris Agreement process with an independent andquantitative view of global fossil CO2 emissions
China-US trade holds great significance for the world’s political and economic landscape. Since 2018, the US government has imposed additional tariffs on Chinese exports on the grounds of the US trade deficit with China. However, the transfer of pollutants embodied in trade and the differences in environmental costs between China and the US have not been widely recognized. In this study, we quantify the embodied carbon emissions (the “virtual” emissions associated with trade and consumption) in China-US trade by constructing a carbon dioxide emissions inventory and a multiregional input-output model. The study shows that the US benefits from a trade surplus of environmental costs by importing energy-intensive and pollution-intensive products from China, which increases China’s environmental pollution and abatement costs. In 2017, 288 Mt CO2 emissions were associated with products produced in China but finally consumed in the US, and only 46 Mt CO2 were associated with the US products that were consumed in China. From this perspective, China-US trade results in a net transfer of 242 Mt CO2 per year from the US to China, accounting for approximately 5% of the total CO2 emissions in the US. More importantly, for Chinese products exported to the US, the carbon emissions embodied in one unit of economic value amount to 0.92 kg/, which means China will incur environmental costs that are 74% higher than those of the US while enjoying the same economic benefits. This environmental trade deficit has burdened China with higher environmental costs thaneconomic benefits. To address this environmental trade deficit, China should actively promote further industrial upgrading and energy structure adjustment and increase investment in innovation and R&D, thereby increasing the value added per unit of export products and reducing the environmental cost of producing export products.
In order to track progress towards the global climate targets, the parties that signed the Paris Climate Agreement will regularly report their anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions based on energy statistics and CO2 emission factors. Independent evaluation of this self-reporting system is a fast-growing research topic. Here, we study the value of satellite observations of the column CO2 concentrations to estimate CO2 anthropogenic emissions with 5 years of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) retrievals over and around China. With the detailed information of emission source locations and the local wind, we successfully observe CO2 plumes from 46 cities and industrial regions over China and quantify their CO2 emissions from the OCO-2 observations, which add up to a total of 1.3 Gt CO2 yr-1 that accounts for approximately 13 % of mainland China's annual emissions. The number of cities whose emissions are constrained by OCO-2 here is 3 to 10 times larger than in previous studies that only focused on large cities and power plants in different locations around the world. Our satellite-based emission estimates are broadly consistent with the independent values from China's detailed emission inventory MEIC but are more different from those of two widely used global gridded emission datasets (i.e., EDGAR and ODIAC), especially for the emission estimates for the individual cities. These results demonstrate some skill in the satellite-based emission quantification for isolated source clusters with the OCO-2, despite the sparse sampling of this instrument not designed for this purpose. This skill can be improved by future satellite missions that will have a denser spatial sampling of surface emitting areas, which will come soon in the early 2020s.
The costs for solar photovoltaics, wind, and battery storage have dropped markedly since 2010, however, many recent studies and reports around the world have not adequately captured such dramatic decrease. Those costs are projected to decline further in the near future, bringing new prospects for the widespread penetration of renewables and extensive power-sector decarbonization that previous policy discussions did not fully consider. Here we show if cost trends for renewables continue, 62% of China’s electricity could come from non-fossil sources by 2030 at a cost that is 11% lower than achieved through a business-as-usual approach. Further, China’s power sector could cut half of its 2015 carbon emissions at a cost about 6% lower compared to business-as-usual conditions.
The 2008–2009 financial crisis, often referred to as the Great Recession, presented one of the greatest challenges to economies since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Before the financial crisis, and in response to the Kyoto Protocol, many countries were making great strides in increasing energy efficiency, reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity and reducing their emissions of CO2. During the financial crisis, CO2 emissions declined in response to a decrease in economic activity. The focus of this research is to study how energy related CO2 emissions and their driving factors after the financial crisis compare to the period before the financial crisis. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method is used to decompose changes in country level CO2 emissions into contributing factors representing carbon intensity, energy intensity, economic activity, and population. The analysis is conducted for a group of 19 major countries (G19) which form the core of the G20. For the G19, as a group, the increase in CO2 emissions post-financial crisis was less than the increase in CO2 emissions pre-financial crisis. China is the only BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) country to record changes in CO2 emissions, carbon intensity and energy intensity in the post-financial crisis period that were lower than their respective values in the pre-financial crisis period. Compared to the pre-financial crisis period, Germany, France, and Italy also recorded lower CO2 emissions, carbon intensity and energy intensity in the post-financial crisis period. Germany and Great Britain are the only two countries to record negative changes in CO2 emissions over both periods. Continued improvements in reducing CO2 emissions, carbon intensity and energy intensity are hard to come by, as only four out of nineteen countries were able to achieve this. Most countries are experiencing weak decoupling between CO2 emissions and GDP. Germany and France are the two countries that stand out as leaders among the G19.
Developing localized climate mitigation strategies needs an understanding of how global consumption drives local carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with a fine spatial resolution. There is no study that provides a spatially explicit mapping of global carbon footprint in China―the world’s largest CO2 emitter―simultaneously considering both international and interprovincial trade. Here we map CO2 emissions in China driven by global consumption in 2012 at a high spatial resolution (10 km × 10 km) using a detailed, firm-level emission inventory. Our results show that the carbon footprints of foreign regions in China are concentrated in key manufacturing hubs, including the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and North China Plain. Approximately 1% of the land area holds 75% of the global carbon footprint in China. The carbon footprint hotspots in China identified are the key places in which collaborative mitigation efforts between China and downstream parties that drive those emissions. There lacks a spatially explicit mapping of global carbon footprint in China that considers both international and interprovincial trade. Here the authors map the carbon footprints of global regions in China and show the hotspots concentrated in key manufacturing hubs, including the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and North China Plain.
There are substantial differences in carbon footprints across households. This study applied an environmentally extended multiregional input–output approach to estimate household carbon footprints for 12 different income groups of China’s 30 regions. Subsequently, carbon footprint Gini coefficients were calculated to measure carbon inequality for households across provinces. We found that the top 5% of income earners were responsible for 17% of the national household carbon footprint in 2012, while the bottom half of income earners caused only 25%. Carbon inequality declined with economic growth in China across space and time in two ways: first, carbon footprints showed greater convergence in the wealthier coastal regions than in the poorer inland regions; second, China’s national carbon footprint Gini coefficients declined from 0.44 in 2007 to 0.37 in 2012. We argue that economic growth not only increases income levels but also contributes to an overall reduction in carbon inequality in China.
Fully decarbonizing global industry is essential to achieving climate stabilization, and reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050–2070 is necessary to limit global warming to 2 °C. This paper assembles and evaluates technical and policy interventions, both on the supply side and on the demand side. It identifies measures that, employed together, can achieve net zero industrial emissions in the required timeframe. Key supply-side technologies include energy efficiency (especially at the system level), carbon capture, electrification, and zero-carbon hydrogen as a heat source and chemical feedstock. There are also promising technologies specific to each of the three top-emitting industries: cement, iron & steel, and chemicals & plastics. These include cement admixtures and alternative chemistries, several technological routes for zero-carbon steelmaking, and novel chemical catalysts and separation technologies. Crucial demand-side approaches include material-efficient design, reductions in material waste, substituting low-carbon for high-carbon materials, and circular economy interventions (such as improving product longevity, reusability, ease of refurbishment, and recyclability). Strategic, well-designed policy can accelerate innovation and provide incentives for technology deployment. High-value policies include carbon pricing with border adjustments or other price signals; robust government support for research, development, and deployment; and energy efficiency or emissions standards. These core policies should be supported by labeling and government procurement of low-carbon products, data collection and disclosure requirements, and recycling incentives. In implementing these policies, care must be taken to ensure a just transition for displaced workers and affected communities. Similarly, decarbonization must complement the human and economic development of low- and middle-income countries.
Reduction of CO2 emissions associated with cement production is challenging in view of the increasing cement demand and the fact that major part of the emissions originates from the main raw material used - limestone - which can be only to extremely low amount substituted. A Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) approach based on mineralization of fines derived from concrete appears to be a viable alternative to reduce these emissions. The CO2 sequestration and the reactivity of the obtained carbonated recycled fines is experimentally demonstrated for lab as well as industrial materials for different mineralization conditions. It is shown that all CO2 originally released by limestone calcination during clinker production can be sequestered by the full carbonation of the fines within a short time. Upon full carbonation, gels with pozzolanic properties form in the fines irrespective of the conditions tested. The carbonated fines have specific CO2 savings more than 30% higher than the simple clinker replacement by limestone.
China has entered the economic transition in the post-financial crisis era, with unprecedented new features that significantly lead to a decline in its carbon emissions. However, regional disparity implies different trajectories in regional decarbonisation. Here, we construct multi-regional input–output tables (MRIO) for 2012 and 2015 and quantitatively evaluate the regional disparity in decarbonisation and the driving forces during 2012–2015. We found China's consumption-based emissions peaked in 2013, largely driven by a peak in consumption-based emissions from developing regions. Declined intensity and industrial structures are determinants due to the economic transition. The rise of the Southwest and Central regions of China have become a new feature, driving up emissions embodied in trade and have reinforced the pattern of carbon flows in the post-financial crisis period. Export-related emissions have bounced up after years of decline, attributed to soaring export volume and export structure in the Southeast and North of the country. The disparity in developing regions has become the new feature in shaping China's economy and decarbonisation.
In order to track progress towards the global climate targets, the parties that signed the Paris Climate Agreement will regularly report their anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions based on energy statistics and CO2 emission factors. Independent evaluation of this self-reporting system is a fast-growing research topic. Here, we study the value of satellite observations of the column CO2 concentrations to estimate CO2 anthropogenic emissions with five years of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) retrievals over and around China. With the detailed information of emission source locations and the local wind, we successfully observe CO2 plumes from 60 cities and industrial regions over China and quantify their CO2 emissions from the OCO-2 observations, which add up to a total of 1.6 Gt CO2 yr−1 that account for 17% of mainland China’s annual emissions. The number of cities whose emissions are constrained by OCO-2 here is three to ten times larger than previous studies that only focused on large cities and power plants in different locations around the world. Our satellite-based emission estimates are broadly consistent with the independent values from the detailed China’s emission inventory MEIC, but are more different from those of two widely used global gridded emission datasets (i.e., EDGAR and ODIAC), especially for the emission estimates for the individual cities. These results demonstrate some skill in the satellite-based emission quantification for isolated source clusters with the OCO-2, despite the sparse sampling of this instrument not designed for this purpose. This skill can be improved by future satellite missions that will have a denser spatial sampling of surface emitting areas, which will come soon in the early 2020s.
Despite China’s emissions having plateaued in 2013, it is still the world’s leading energy consumer and CO2 emitter, accounting for approximately 30% of global emissions. Detailed CO2 emission inventories by energy and sector have great significance to China’s carbon policies as well as to achieving global climate change mitigation targets. This study constructs the most up-to-date CO2 emission inventories for China and its 30 provinces, as well as their energy inventories for the years 2016 and 2017. The newly compiled inventories provide key updates and supplements to our previous emission dataset for 1997–2015. Emissions are calculated based on IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) administrative territorial scope that covers all anthropogenic emissions generated within an administrative boundary due to energy consumption (i.e. energy-related emissions from 17 fossil fuel types) and industrial production (i.e. process-related emissions from cement production). The inventories are constructed for 47 economic sectors consistent with the national economic accounting system. The data can be used as inputs to climate and integrated assessment models and for analysis of emission patterns of China and its regions.
CO 2 emissions are of global concern because of climate change. China has become the largest CO 2 emitter in the world and presently accounts for 30% of global emissions. Here, we analyze the major drivers of energy-related CO 2 emissions in China from 1978 when the reform and opening-up policy was launched. We find that 1) there has been a 6-fold increase in energy-related CO 2 emissions, which was driven primarily (176%) by economic growth followed by population growth (16%), while the effects of energy intensity (−79%) and carbon intensity (−13%) slowed the growth of carbon emissions over most of this period; 2) energy-related CO 2 emissions are positively related to per capita gross domestic product (GDP), population growth rate, carbon intensity, and energy intensity; and 3) a portfolio of command-and-control policies affecting the drivers has altered the total emission trend. However, given the major role of China in global climate change mitigation, significant future reductions in China’s CO 2 emissions will require transformation toward low-carbon energy systems.
Vegetation greenness has been increasing globally since at least 1981, when satellite technology enabled large-scale vegetation monitoring. The greening phenomenon, together with warming, sea-level rise and sea-ice decline, represents highly credible evidence of anthropogenic climate change. In this Review, we examine the detection of the greening signal, its causes and its consequences. Greening is pronounced over intensively farmed or afforested areas, such as in China and India, reflecting human activities. However, strong greening also occurs in biomes with low human footprint, such as the Arctic, where global change drivers play a dominant role. Vegetation models suggest that CO2 fertilization is the main driver of greening on the global scale, with other factors being notable at the regional scale. Modelling indicates that greening could mitigate global warming by increasing the carbon sink on land and altering biogeophysical processes, mainly evaporative cooling. Coupling high temporal and fine spatial resolution remote-sensing observations with ground measurements, increasing sampling in the tropics and Arctic, and modelling Earth systems in more detail will further our insights into the greening of Earth.
China’s CO2 emissions have plateaued under its commitment to reaching peak carbon emissions before 2030 in order to mitigate global climate change. This commitment is aligned with China’s turn toward more sustainable development, named “the new normal” phase. This study aims to explore the role of possible socioeconomic drivers of China’s CO2 emission changes by using structural decomposition analysis (SDA) for 2002–2017. The results show deceleration of China’s annual emissions growth from 10% (2002–2012) to 0.3% (2012–2017), which is mainly caused by gains in energy efficiency, deceleration of economic growth, and changes in consumption patterns. Gains in energy efficiency are the most important determinants, offsetting the increase by 49% during 2012–2017. The recent moderation of emission growth is also attributed to China’s decelerating annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from 12% (2002–2012) to 6% (2012–2017) and to the economic transformation to consumption-led patterns in the new normal phase.
As cities are the center of human activity and the basic unit of policy design, they have become the focus of carbon dioxide reduction, especially metropolitan areas that are high energy consumers and carbon dioxide emitters in countries such as China. The fact cities differ in their levels of development and stages of industrialization points to the need for tailor-made low-carbon policies. This study is the first to consider cities' different phases of industrialization when analyzing city-level emission patterns and drivers, as well as the decoupling statuses between economic growth and their emission levels in China. The results of 15 representative cities at different phases of industrialization show that various decoupling statuses, driving factors and decoupling efforts exist among cities, and that heterogeneity among these factors also exists among cities at the same industrialization phase. For further decomposition, energy intensity contributed the most to emissions reduction during the period 2005 to 2010, especially for cities with more heavy manufacturing industries, whereas industrial structure was a stronger negative emission driver during the period 2010 to 2015. Based on those findings, we suggest putting into practice a diversified carbon-mitigation policy portfolio according to each city's industrialization phase rather than a single policy that focuses on one specific driving factor. This paper sets an example on emissions-reduction experience for other cities undergoing different industrialization phases in China; it also sheds light on policy initiatives that could be applied to other cities around the world.
China’s strong economic growth over the past 40 years has been followed by similar strong growth in energy consumption, based on coal. A continuation of this development is not sustainable, and China has set new ambitious targets for future energy systems development, which in reality calls for a genuine energy revolution in order to build a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system towards 2035 and 2050. This paper looks at the mechanisms behind the energy transition, analysis of a concrete case for a sustainable energy system in 2050, and points to policy measures and instruments to ensure the necessary progress in this energy transition. The case shows that it is possible for China in 2050 to reduce CO2 emission to one-third of today’s emission while at the same time maintaining economic growth, improving security of supply, air quality, and economic efficiency of the power system.
Based on policy instrument theory and a case of low-carbon city development (Qihe County in Shandong), this study examined the policy instruments adopted for low-carbon city development in China and the effectiveness of these instruments. All the policies adopted by the piloted city from 2008 and 2014 were collected, coded, and analyzed. A two-dimensional analytical framework was developed based on a trichotomous policy instrument categorization and low-carbon city connotation. The results showed that the key goal of China’s low-carbon city construction is to develop low-carbon technology and low-carbon energy. Compulsory policy instruments are the most used and most effective, while voluntary policy instruments are rarely used. Further results indicated that when the ratio of compulsory instruments and mixed instruments comes to 2:1, the combination of policy instruments can lead to the optimal completion degree. It seems difficult to balance the stability of various policy instruments with the overall high completion degree. Chinese local governments are more accustomed to compulsory policy instruments. This reminds policymakers to pay more attention to the potential of voluntary instruments and mixed instruments in building low-carbon cities.
Low carbon city (LCC) has emerged as the latest sustainable urbanism strategy in China as a response to climate change impacts. Yet, minimal scholarships have explored the sustainability of the urban planning model towards understanding the complexity of the components. Using a two-step triangulation approach, this paper presents a structured overview of the LCC initiative in China as it relates to the transition to a sustainability paradigm. The data collection approach includes a comprehensive review of 238 articles on LCC to identify and categorize LCC components. Furthermore, discourse and framing analysis was used to develop and synthesize a conceptual framework for assimilating the components into four core sustainable development principles: Integration, implementation, equity, and scalability and replicability. The results indicate that LCC development in China is bias towards economic and environmental technological innovations and strategies. Additionally, several critical sustainability issues of LCC pilots were identified. These include a lack of social equity planning concerns for the most vulnerable population, dearth of social reforms that cater to lifestyle and behavioral change, top-down planning and decision-making processes, a technocratic rationalization planning approach, inconsistent LCC targets on inter-generational justice concerns, absence of an effective national "sharing and learning" city-city network system, and several barriers to implementation. We conclude that the applied theoretical and conceptual inquiry into the field of LCC is pertinent to mitigate climate change and achieve sustainable urban development.
Global climate change has raised concerns about the relationship between ecosystems and forests, which is a core component of the carbon cycle and a critical factor in understanding and mitigating the effects of climate change. Forest models and sufficient information for predictions are important for ensuring efficient afforestation activities and sustainable forest development. Based on the theory of difference equations and the general rules of tree growth, this study established a difference equation for the relationship between the ratio of tree diameter at breast height (DBH) to the tree height and age of age of China’s main arbor species. A comparison with equations that represent the traditional tree growth models, i.e., Logistic and Richards equations, showed that the difference equations exhibited higher precision for both fitting and verification data. Moreover, the biomass carbon stocks (BCS) of Chinese forests from 2013 to 2050 were predicted by combining the 8th Chinese Ministry of Forestry and partial continuous forest inventory (CFI) data sets. The results showed that the BCS of Chinese forests would increase from 7342 to 11,030 terra grams of carbon (Tg C) in 2013–2050, with an annual biomass C (carbon) sink of 99.68 Tg C year−1, and they indicated that the Chinese land-surface forest vegetation has an important carbon sequestration capability.
Net anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions must approach zero by mid-century (2050) to stabilize global mean temperature at the levels targeted by international efforts1–5. Yet continued expansion of fossil-fuel energy infrastructure implies already ‘committed’ future CO2 emissions6–13. Here we use detailed datasets of current fossil-fuel-burning energy infrastructure in 2018 to estimate regional and sectoral patterns of ‘committed’ CO2 emissions, the sensitivity of such emissions to assumed operating lifetimes and schedules, and the economic value of associated infrastructure. We estimate that, if operated as historically, existing infrastructure will emit about 658 gigatonnes (Gt) of CO2 (ranging from 226 to 1,479 Gt CO2 depending on assumed lifetimes and utilization rates). More than half of these emissions are projected to come from the electricity sector, and infrastructure in China, the USA and the EU28 countries represent approximately 41 per cent, 9 per cent and 7 per cent of the total, respectively. If built, proposed power plants (planned, permitted or under construction) would emit approximately an additional 188 (range 37–427) Gt CO2. Committed emissions from existing and proposed energy infrastructure (about 846 Gt CO2) thus represent more than the entire remaining carbon budget if mean warming is to be limited to 1.5 °C with a probability of 50–66 per cent (420–580 Gt CO2)5, and perhaps two-thirds of the remaining carbon budget if mean warming is to be limited to below 2 °C (1,170–1,500 Gt CO2)5. The remaining carbon budget estimates are varied and nuanced14,15, depending on the climate target and the availability of large-scale negative emissions16. Nevertheless, our emission estimates suggest that little or no additional CO2-emitting infrastructure can be commissioned, and that infrastructure retirements that are earlier than historical ones (or retrofits with carbon capture and storage technology) may be necessary, in order to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals17. On the basis of the asset value per ton of committed emissions, we estimate that the most cost-effective premature infrastructure retirements will be in the electricity and industry sectors, if non-emitting alternative technologies are available and affordable4,18.
Globalization of supply chains has resulted in rapid increases in emission transfers from the developing to the developed world. As outsourcing has risen, developed countries have been able to decarbonize domestically, at the expense of increased emissions in developing countries. However, the rapid improvement of carbon efficiency in developing regions together with the post-2008 deceleration in international trade raises the question of whether such embodied emission transfers have peaked. Here we update historical analysis, finding that emission transfers between OECD and non-OECD countries peaked in 2006, and have been declining since. The reversal is principally due to the reduction in the emissions intensity of traded goods, rather than the volume of trade. A more recent decline in embodied emissions transfers is also observed in trade between developing countries. We analyse whether these trends are likely to continue, by exploring a baseline and a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) scenario with the Macro-ejconometric Energy-Environment-Economy Model (E3ME) model. The results suggest that absolute embodied emissions will plateau at current levels or slowly return to pre-2008- crisis levels, and differences between the NDC and baseline scenarios imply that NDC policies will not result in significant carbon leakage. However, the share of national footprint embodied in imports, at least for countries with ambitious decarbonization policies, will likely increase. This suggests that, despite the world-wide stabilization of emissions transfers, addressing emissions embodied in imports will become increasingly important for reducing carbon footprints.
• Key policy insights
• Emissions embodied in imports have plateaued since 2006, and are unlikely to return to the peak of the mid-2000s.
• For developed countries, as domestic decarbonization occurs, the share of emissions embodied in imports as a percentage of the total national carbon footprint will increase.
• The Paris NDCs in themselves are unlikely to cause significant carbon leakage.
• Climate policy will ideally focus on reducing both production and consumption emissions, through a variety of mechanisms, especially centred around international assistance.
Climate policies targeting CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels can simultaneously reduce emissions of air pollutants and their precursors, thus mitigating air pollution and associated health impacts. Previous work has examined co-benefits of climate policy from reducing PM₂.₅ in rapidly-developing countries such as China, but have not examined co-benefits from ozone and its transboundary impact for both PM₂.₅ and ozone. Here, we compare the air quality and health co-benefits of China's climate policy on both PM₂.₅ and ozone in China to their co-benefits in three downwind and populous countries (South Korea, Japan and the United States) using a coupled modeling framework. In a policy scenario consistent with China's pledge to peak CO₂ emissions in approximately 2030, avoided premature deaths from ozone reductions are 54 300 (95% confidence interval: 37 100-71 000) in China in 2030, nearly 60% of those from PM₂.₅. Total avoided premature deaths in South Korea, Japan, and the US are 1200 (900-1600), 3500 (2800-4300), and 1900 (1400-2500), respectively. Total avoided deaths in South Korea and Japan are dominated by reductions in PM₂.₅-related mortality, but ozone plays a more important role in the US. Similar to co-benefits for PM₂.₅ in China, co-benefits of China's policy for ozone and for both pollutants in those downwind countries also rise with increasing policy stringency. Keywords: climate policy; air quality; human health; co-benefits; transboundary air pollution
China announced at the Paris Climate Change Conference in 2015 that the country would reach peak carbon emissions around 2030. Since then, widespread attention has been devoted to determining when and how this goal will be achieved. This study aims to explore the role of China's changing regional development patterns in the achievement of this goal. This study uses the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) to estimate seven socioeconomic drivers of the changes in CO 2 emissions in China since 2000. The results show that China's carbon emissions have plateaued since 2012 mainly because of energy efficiency gains and structural upgrades (i.e., industrial structure, energy mix and regional structure). Regional structure, measured by provincial economic growth shares, has drastically reduced CO 2 emissions since 2012. The effects of these drivers on emissions changes varied across regions due to their different regional development patterns. Industrial structure and energy mix resulted in emissions growth in some regions, but these two drivers led to emissions reduction at the national level. For example, industrial structure reduced China's CO 2 emissions by 1.0% from 2013 to 2016; however, it increased CO 2 emissions in the Northeast and Northwest regions by 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively. Studying China's plateauing CO 2 emissions in the new normal stage at the regional level yields a strong recommendation that China's regions cooperate to improve development patterns.
Change in the air
The 2016 Paris Agreement set the ambitious goals of keeping global temperature rise this century below 2°C, or even better, 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. Substantial interventions are required to meet these goals, particularly for industrialized countries. Duan et al. projected that China will need to reduce its carbon emissions by more than 90% and its energy consumption by almost 40% to do its share in reaching the 1.5°C target. Negative emission technology is an essential element of any plan. China's accumulated economic costs by 2050 may be about 3 to 6% of its gross domestic product.
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Climate change has significant impacts on natural ecosystems and human living environments. Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a critical technology that can offer net CO2 emission reductions while providing a sustainable energy supply at lower costs. The role of the BECCS deployment in achieving deep decarbonization in China needs to be quantified. Scenario analyses were conducted in this study based on a computable general equilibrium energy-economic model, the China-in-Global Energy Model (C-GEM), with detailed representations of BECCS. The results showed that BECCS will capture 0.59 gigatonnes of CO2 in 2050 under the 2 °C Scenario and 0.95 gigatonnes of CO2 in 2050 under the 1.5 °C Scenario, respectively. If these emission targets have to be reached without BECCS, the carbon price and gross domestic product (GDP) losses will be higher. Especially under the 1.5 °C Scenario, the deployment of BECCS can reduce the carbon price by 61% and the GDP loss rate by three percentage points in 2050 compared with that without the deployment of BECCS.
The use of cement and concrete, among the most widely used man-made materials,
is under scrutiny. Owing to their large-scale use, production of cement and concrete results in substantial emission of greenhouse gases and places strain on the availability of natural resources, such as water. Projected urbanization over the next 50–100 years therefore indicates that the demand for cement and concrete will continue to increase, necessitating strategies to limit their environmental impact. In this Review, we shed light on the available solutions that can be implemented within the next decade and beyond to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cement and concrete production. As the construction sector has proven to be very slow-moving and risk-averse, we focus on minor improvements that can be achieved across the value chain, such as the use of supplementary cementitious materials and optimizing the clinker content of cement. Critically, the combined effect of these marginal gains can have an important impact on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 50% if all stakeholders are engaged. In doing so, we reveal credible pathways for sustainable concrete use that balance societal needs, environmental requirements and technical feasibility.
As the world's largest coal producer and consumer, China's transition from coal to cleaner energy sources is critical for achieving global decarbonization. Increasing regulations on air pollution and carbon emissions and decreasing costs of renewables drive China's transition away from coal; however, this transition also has implications for employment and social justice. Here, we assess China's current coal-transition policies, their barriers, and the potential for an accelerated transition, as well as the associated environmental, human health, and employment and social justice issues that may arise from the transition. We estimate that the most aggressive coal-transition pathway could reduce annual premature death related to coal combustion by 224,000 and reduce annual water consumption by 4.3 billion m3 in 2050 compared with business-as-usual. We highlight knowledge gaps and conclude with policy recommendations for an integrated approach to facilitate a rapid and just transition away from coal in China.
The anticipated growth and urbanization of the global population over the next several decades will create a vast demand for the construction of new housing, commercial buildings and accompanying infrastructure. The production of cement, steel and other building materials associated with this wave of construction will become a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Might it be possible to transform this potential threat to the global climate system into a powerful means to mitigate climate change? To answer this provocative question, we explore the potential of mid-rise urban buildings designed with engineered timber to provide long-term storage of carbon and to avoid the carbon-intensive production of mineral-based construction materials.
Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), has been deemed an essential component for climate change mitigation and is conducive to enabling a low-carbon and sustainable future. Since the 12th Five-year Plan, China has included this technology as part of its future national carbon mitigation strategies. China's policy framework in relation to CCUS has had a strong influencing role in the technology's progress to date. This paper employs the “policy cycle” to analyze China's existing CCUS regulatory framework at the national and provincial level, evaluate its performance and clarify its shortcomings in light of the comparisons of policy movements undertaken in other countries. The results indicate that China's CCUS policy is insufficient for further development of the technology and many issues remain to be solved. This includes the lack of an enforceable legal framework, insufficient information for the operationalization of projects, weak market stimulus, and a lack of financial subsidies. These factors may be the reason we have seen low participation rates of Chinese companies in CCUS and little public understanding of what the technology offers. To overcome these challenges, suggestions are provided for improving China's CCUS legal and policy framework.
China has strong policies to increase consumption and rebalance the economy away from capital investments. Since the total household carbon emissions (HCEs) grew 19% between 2007 and 2012, the study of driving forces from the spatial perspective provides insights into meeting these policy goals. To understand how to reduce HCEs across China, we analyze the driving factors of urban and rural household carbon emissions (HCEs) in 30 provinces in 2012. We distinguish two emission sources: direct (e.g. combustion of coal in the home), and indirect (emissions occurring along the supply chain of goods and services consumed by households), and analyze five factors for both urban/rural and direct/indirect emissions: population, income per capita, emission factors (emission improvements in technology), energy/consumption structure (changes in consumption), and energy/consumption intensity. Moreover, we aggregate the first two factors as the ‘scale’ effect and the latter three as the ‘effort’ effect, and explore their decoupling relationship. We find that the scale effect from income and population was the major driver of high urban HCEs in most of coastal provinces, up to 222% higher than the national average. The high HCEs in non-coastal industrial provinces (e.g. Inner Mongolia) were due to the limited improvements in the effort effect, specifically limited technology improvements, up to 101% than the national average. Almost all urban areas in coastal provinces achieved strong or weak decoupling, with the northeastern, central, western provinces witnessing negative decoupling. Urban areas in the main industrial provinces (Hebei, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia) showed the largest negative decoupling with values of −2.2, −3.0 and −2.7, respectively, due to a larger share of coal consumption and higher energy intensity within urban areas. Therefore, under the background of regional convergence, making larger efforts to reducing the HCEs in non-coastal provinces is critical for promoting a low-carbon transition in the household consumption.
Low-carbon city development plays a critical role in the sustainable development of a country, especially to those new emerging economies such as China. The Chinese government recognizes the leading role of national policy system in facilitating the low-carbon city development. Meanwhile, positive effects are derived from the implementation of national policies. This study critically analyzed various policies promulgated during 2010–2019 by the Chinese government. A multi-dimensional framework is developed in this study to better understand the policies related to low carbon city development in China. These state-level policies are classified into six aspects: planning guidance, building energy conservation, industrial development regulation, energy industry development and energy mix, economic measures, and supervision measures. The evolution of these policies is examined in this study. Results show that national policies play a significant role in guiding low-carbon development of cities while the practicability of these national policies is improved. In addition, the development of low carbon city clusters is actively promoted by the Chinese government and linked to other strategic initiatives such as “The Belt and Road”. These findings help to better understand the national policy landscape of low carbon city development in China, as well as providing useful references to the policy making in other countries.
Carbon accounting results for the same city can differ due to differences in protocols, methods and data sources. A critical review of these differences and the connection among them can help to bridge our knowledge between university-based researchers and protocol practitioners in accounting and taking further mitigation actions. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic and holistic review of published research and protocols related to city carbon accounting paying attention to both their science and practical actions. To begin with, the most cited articles in this field are identified and analysed by employing a citation network analysis to illustrate the development of city-level carbon accounting from three perspectives. We also reveal the relationship between research methods and accounting protocols. Furthermore, a timeline of relevant organizations, protocols and projects is provided to demonstrate the applications of city carbon accounting in practice. The citation networks indicate that the field is dominated by pure-geographic production-based and community infrastructure-based accounting, however, emerging models that combine economic system analysis from a consumption-based perspective are leading to new trends in the field. The emissions accounted for by various research methods especially consist of the scope 1-3 as defined in accounting protocols. The latest accounting protocols include consumption-based accounting but most cities still limit their accounting and reporting from a pure-geographic production-based and community infrastructure-based perspective. In concluding, we argue that protocol practitioners require support in conducting carbon accounting so as to explore the potential in mitigation and adaption from a number of perspectives. This should also be a priority for future studies.
