IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v50y2012icp464-476.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Carbon dioxide emissions from passenger transport in China since 1949: Implications for developing sustainable transport

Author

Listed:
  • Loo, Becky P.Y.
  • Li, Linna

Abstract

This paper traces the historical evolution and spatial disparity of CO2 emissions from passenger transport in China. The general trends of CO2 emissions from four passenger transport modes are estimated by both the distance-based and fuel-based methods. The results suggest that CO2 emissions from road transport represented the leading source of passenger transport CO2 emissions in China. Moreover, they have continued to grow rapidly. Air transport was the second largest contributor since 1998. Emissions from rail and water transport have remained relatively stable with lower emission intensity. At the provincial level, great regional disparity was noticeable, especially in road transport. Moreover, the decomposition analysis shows that income growth was the principal factor leading to the growth of passenger transport CO2 emissions in China for both the 1949–1979 and 1980–2009 periods. The second most important factor was increased transport intensity and modal shifts for the former and the latter period, respectively. The main factor contributed to emission reduction was the lower emission intensity supported by policies, although the effect was weak. In the future, more policies to encourage modal shifts toward sustainable transport modes and travel reduction should be encouraged.

Suggested Citation

  • Loo, Becky P.Y. & Li, Linna, 2012. "Carbon dioxide emissions from passenger transport in China since 1949: Implications for developing sustainable transport," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 464-476.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:50:y:2012:i:c:p:464-476
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.044
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421512006386
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.044?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rout, Ullash K. & Voβ, Alfred & Singh, Anoop & Fahl, Ulrich & Blesl, Markus & Ó Gallachóir, Brian P., 2011. "Energy and emissions forecast of China over a long-time horizon," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 1-11.
    2. Gössling, Stefan & Peeters, Paul & Ceron, Jean-Paul & Dubois, Ghislain & Patterson, Trista & Richardson, Robert B., 2005. "The eco-efficiency of tourism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(4), pages 417-434, September.
    3. Unknown, 2008. "2008 Editorial Committee," Journal of the ASFMRA, American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers, vol. 2008, pages 1-1.
    4. He, Kebin & Huo, Hong & Zhang, Qiang & He, Dongquan & An, Feng & Wang, Michael & Walsh, Michael P., 2005. "Oil consumption and CO2 emissions in China's road transport: current status, future trends, and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 1499-1507, August.
    5. Steckel, Jan Christoph & Jakob, Michael & Marschinski, Robert & Luderer, Gunnar, 2011. "From carbonization to decarbonization?--Past trends and future scenarios for China's CO2 emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3443-3455, June.
    6. Lee Schipper & Calanit Saenger & Anant Sudardshan, 2011. "Transport and Carbon Emissions in the United States: The Long View," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Ang, B. W., 2005. "The LMDI approach to decomposition analysis: a practical guide," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 867-871, May.
    8. Li, Jun, 2011. "Decoupling urban transport from GHG emissions in Indian cities--A critical review and perspectives," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3503-3514, June.
    9. N/A, 2008. "Editor-in-Chief's Note," South Asian Survey, , vol. 15(1), pages 1-4, January.
    10. Zhang, M. & Li, G. & Mu, H.L. & Ning, Y.D., 2011. "Energy and exergy efficiencies in the Chinese transportation sector, 1980–2009," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 770-776.
    11. Scholl, Lynn & Schipper, Lee & Kiang, Nancy, 1996. "CO2 emissions from passenger transport : A comparison of international trends from 1973 to 1992," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 17-30, January.
    12. Ramanathan, R. & Parikh, Jyoti K., 1999. "Transport sector in India: an analysis in the context of sustainable development," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 35-46, January.
    13. Lin, Tzu-Ping, 2010. "Carbon dioxide emissions from transport in Taiwan's national parks," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 285-290.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Achour, Houda & Belloumi, Mounir, 2016. "Decomposing the influencing factors of energy consumption in Tunisian transportation sector using the LMDI method," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 64-71.
    2. Sobrino, Natalia & Monzon, Andres, 2014. "The impact of the economic crisis and policy actions on GHG emissions from road transport in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 486-498.
    3. Mahlia, T.M.I. & Tohno, S. & Tezuka, T., 2012. "History and current status of the motor vehicle energy labeling and its implementation possibilities in Malaysia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 1828-1844.
    4. Tang, Chengcai & Zhong, Linsheng & Ng, Pin, 2017. "Factors that Influence the Tourism Industry's Carbon Emissions: a Tourism Area Life Cycle Model Perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 704-718.
    5. Mathy, Sandrine & Menanteau, Philippe & Criqui, Patrick, 2018. "After the Paris Agreement: Measuring the Global Decarbonization Wedges From National Energy Scenarios," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 273-289.
    6. Lu, I.J. & Lin, Sue J. & Lewis, Charles, 2007. "Decomposition and decoupling effects of carbon dioxide emission from highway transportation in Taiwan, Germany, Japan and South Korea," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 3226-3235, June.
    7. Tsai, Kang-Ting & Lin, Tzu-Ping & Hwang, Ruey-Lung & Huang, Yu-Jing, 2014. "Carbon dioxide emissions generated by energy consumption of hotels and homestay facilities in Taiwan," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 13-21.
    8. Dovern, Jonas & Feldkircher, Martin & Huber, Florian, 2016. "Does joint modelling of the world economy pay off? Evaluating global forecasts from a Bayesian GVAR," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 86-100.
    9. Hannah Förster & Katja Schumacher & Enrica De Cian & Michael Hübler & Ilkka Keppo & Silvana Mima & Ronald D. Sands, 2013. "European Energy Efficiency And Decarbonization Strategies Beyond 2030 — A Sectoral Multi-Model Decomposition," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(supp0), pages 1-29.
    10. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Khraief, Naceur & Jemaa, Mohamed Mekki Ben, 2015. "On the causal nexus of road transport CO2 emissions and macroeconomic variables in Tunisia: Evidence from combined cointegration tests," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 89-100.
    11. Linna Li, 2019. "Structure and influencing factors of CO2 emissions from transport sector in three major metropolitan regions of China: estimation and decomposition," Transportation, Springer, vol. 46(4), pages 1245-1269, August.
    12. Tehreem Fatima & Enjun Xia & Muhammad Ahad, 2019. "Oil demand forecasting for China: a fresh evidence from structural time series analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1205-1224, June.
    13. Remig, Moritz C., 2017. "Structured pluralism in ecological economics — A reply to Peter Söderbaum's commentary," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 533-537.
    14. Vaninsky, Alexander, 2014. "Factorial decomposition of CO2 emissions: A generalized Divisia index approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 389-400.
    15. Rashid Khan, Haroon Ur & Siddique, Muhammad & Zaman, Khalid & Yousaf, Sheikh Usman & Shoukry, Alaa Mohamd & Gani, Showkat & Sasmoko, & Khan, Aqeel & Hishan, Sanil S. & Saleem, Hummera, 2018. "The impact of air transportation, railways transportation, and port container traffic on energy demand, customs duty, and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of low-, middle-, and high -income coun," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 18-35.
    16. Yalan Zhao & Yaoqiu Kuang & Ningsheng Huang, 2016. "Decomposition Analysis in Decoupling Transport Output from Carbon Emissions in Guangdong Province, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-23, April.
    17. Wang, Qunwei & Chiu, Yung-Ho & Chiu, Ching-Ren, 2015. "Driving factors behind carbon dioxide emissions in China: A modified production-theoretical decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 252-260.
    18. Xu, X.Y. & Ang, B.W., 2013. "Index decomposition analysis applied to CO2 emission studies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 313-329.
    19. Yuan, Jiahai & Xu, Yan & Hu, Zheng & Zhao, Changhong & Xiong, Minpeng & Guo, Jingsheng, 2014. "Peak energy consumption and CO2 emissions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 508-523.
    20. Ang, B.W. & Goh, Tian, 2019. "Index decomposition analysis for comparing emission scenarios: Applications and challenges," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 74-87.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    CO2 emissions; Sustainable passenger transport; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:50:y:2012:i:c:p:464-476. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.