IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v55y2013icp217-233.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Identifying the environmental support and constraints to the Chinese economic growth—An application of the Emergy Accounting method

Author

Listed:
  • Lou, Bo
  • Ulgiati, Sergio

Abstract

The economy of China keeps increasing at high rate, although a bit slower recently than in the past due to the international economic turmoil. The Chinese economic performance affects the world economy in many ways (from increased primary resource and commodity imports to a more active financial role of China worldwide). Not unexpectedly, several and diverse environmental problems are coupled with economic growth, linked to resource availability, competition for energy resources and the overall carrying capacity of the environment as a source and a sink. Monodimensional assessments of either economic growth or environmental aspects are unlikely to provide the needed understanding of development opportunities and potential environmental loading. We suggest in this paper an assessment of the evolution of Chinese Economy based on the Emergy Accounting method, developed by H.T. Odum in the Eighties and further refined more recently. The emergy approach is being increasingly applied worldwide, and in China as well, to study individual production processes, sectors and whole economies and provides a comprehensive picture of the interaction of economic growth and the environment, much useful for economic and environmental policy making. A set of emergy-based performance indicators was calculated with reference to the year 2009 and compared with previous studies from literature, by means of a standardization procedure to ensure consistency. The 2009 national Emergy/GDP ratio, an indicator of the emergy investment per unit of economic product generated, has been calculated respectively as 8.61E+11 solar equivalent joules/Yuan RMB (equivalent to 5.88E+12sej/US$), showing a decreasing trend from 1975 up-to-date, similar to other countries over their development path. The Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI), an aggregate measure of economic performance and environmental load, also shows a decreasing trend signaling that the Chinese economic development is strictly coupled to non-negligible environmental stress and lower sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Lou, Bo & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2013. "Identifying the environmental support and constraints to the Chinese economic growth—An application of the Emergy Accounting method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 217-233.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:55:y:2013:i:c:p:217-233
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.12.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421512010543
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.12.009?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. Brown, Mark T. & Protano, Gaetano & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2011. "Assessing geobiosphere work of generating global reserves of coal, crude oil, and natural gas," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(3), pages 879-887.
    2. Lei, Kampeng & Zhou, Shaoqi, 2012. "Per capita resource consumption and resource carrying capacity: A comparison of the sustainability of 17 mainstream countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 603-612.
    3. Leung, Guy C.K., 2010. "China's oil use, 1990-2008," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 932-944, February.
    4. Wei, Zheng & Hao, Rui, 2010. "Demographic structure and economic growth: Evidence from China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 472-491, December.
    5. Yang, Z.F. & Jiang, M.M. & Chen, B. & Zhou, J.B. & Chen, G.Q. & Li, S.C., 2010. "Solar emergy evaluation for Chinese economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 875-886, February.
    6. Odum, Howard T., 2000. "Emergy evaluation of an OTEC electrical power system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 389-393.
    7. Brown, Mark T. & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2010. "Updated evaluation of exergy and emergy driving the geobiosphere: A review and refinement of the emergy baseline," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(20), pages 2501-2508.
    8. Chuang-lin Fang & Chao Bao & Jin-chuan Huang, 2007. "Management Implications to Water Resources Constraint Force on Socio-economic System in Rapid Urbanization: A Case Study of the Hexi Corridor, NW China," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(9), pages 1613-1633, September.
    9. Bao, Chao & Fang, Chuang-lin, 2007. "Water resources constraint force on urbanization in water deficient regions: A case study of the Hexi Corridor, arid area of NW China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3-4), pages 508-517, May.
    10. Heerink, Nico & Bao, Xiaobin & Li, Rui & Lu, Kaiyu & Feng, Shuyi, 2009. "Soil and water conservation investments and rural development in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 288-302, June.
    11. Brown, Mark T. & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2011. "Understanding the global economic crisis: A biophysical perspective," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 223(1), pages 4-13.
    12. Zhang, Na & Lior, Noam & Jin, Hongguang, 2011. "The energy situation and its sustainable development strategy in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 3639-3649.
    13. Dong, Xiaobin & Ulgiati, Sergio & Yan, Maochao & Gao, Wangsheng, 2008. "Progress, influence and perspectives of emergy theories in China, in support of environmentally sound economic development and equitable trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1019-1028, March.
    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. Liu, Xinyu & Liu, Gengyuan & Yang, Zhifeng & Chen, Bin & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "Comparing national environmental and economic performances through emergy sustainability indicators: Moving environmental ethics beyond anthropocentrism toward ecocentrism," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1532-1542.
    2. Zhang, Zilong & Chen, Xingpeng & Heck, Peter & Xue, Bing & Liu, Ye, 2015. "Empirical study on the environmental pressure versus economic growth in China during 1991–2012," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 182-193.
    3. Zhang, Xiaohong & Wu, Liqian & Zhang, Rong & Deng, Shihuai & Zhang, Yanzong & Wu, Jun & Li, Yuanwei & Lin, Lili & Li, Li & Wang, Yinjun & Wang, Lilin, 2013. "Evaluating the relationships among economic growth, energy consumption, air emissions and air environmental protection investment in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 259-270.
    4. Geng, Yong & Tian, Xu & Sarkis, Joseph & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2017. "China-USA Trade: Indicators for Equitable and Environmentally Balanced Resource Exchange," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 245-254.
    5. Buonocore, Elvira & Vanoli, Laura & Carotenuto, Alberto & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2015. "Integrating life cycle assessment and emergy synthesis for the evaluation of a dry steam geothermal power plant in Italy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 476-487.
    6. Gengyuan Liu & Mark T. Brown & Marco Casazza, 2017. "Enhancing the Sustainability Narrative through a Deeper Understanding of Sustainable Development Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-19, June.
    7. Zhang, XiaoHong & Hu, He & Zhang, Rong & Deng, ShiHuai, 2014. "Interactions between China׳s economy, energy and the air emissions and their policy implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 624-638.
    8. Dong, X.B. & Yu, B.H. & Brown, M.T. & Zhang, Y.S. & Kang, M.Y. & Jin, Y. & Zhang, X.S. & Ulgiati, S., 2014. "Environmental and economic consequences of the overexploitation of natural capital and ecosystem services in Xilinguole League, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 767-780.
    9. Yu, Xiaoman & Geng, Yong & Dong, Huijuan & Ulgiati, Sergio & Liu, Zhe & Liu, Zuoxi & Ma, Zhixiao & Tian, Xu & Sun, Lu, 2016. "Sustainability assessment of one industrial region: A combined method of emergy analysis and IPAT (Human Impact Population Affluence Technology)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 818-830.
    10. Li, Xiaolin & Tong, Ling & Niu, Jun & Kang, Shaozhong & Du, Taisheng & Li, Sien & Ding, Risheng, 2017. "Spatio-temporal distribution of irrigation water productivity and its driving factors for cereal crops in Hexi Corridor, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 55-63.
    11. Boyu Wang & Xiang Gao, 2021. "Temporal and spatial variations of water resources constraint intensity on urbanization in the Shiyang River Basin, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 10038-10055, July.
    12. Dong, Xiaobin & Yang, Weikun & Ulgiati, Sergio & Yan, Maochao & Zhang, Xinshi, 2012. "The impact of human activities on natural capital and ecosystem services of natural pastures in North Xinjiang, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 28-39.
    13. Agostinho, F. & Oliveira, M.W. & Pulselli, F.M. & Almeida, C.M.V.B. & Giannetti, B.F., 2019. "Emergy accounting as a support for a strategic planning towards a regional sustainable milk production," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    14. Giannetti, B.F. & Demétrio, J.F.C. & Bonilla, S.H. & Agostinho, F. & Almeida, C.M.V.B., 2013. "Emergy diagnosis and reflections towards Brazilian sustainable development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1002-1012.
    15. Mingguang Tu & Futao Wang & Yi Zhou & Shixin Wang, 2016. "Gridded Water Resource Distribution Simulation for China Based on Third-Order Basin Data from 2002," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-14, December.
    16. Chao Bao & Dongmei He, 2019. "Scenario Modeling of Urbanization Development and Water Scarcity Based on System Dynamics: A Case Study of Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Urban Agglomeration, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-19, October.
    17. Ulgiati, Sergio & Zucaro, Amalia & Franzese, Pier Paolo, 2011. "Shared wealth or nobody's land? The worth of natural capital and ecosystem services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(4), pages 778-787, February.
    18. Yunqiang Liu & Jiuping Xu & Huawei Luo, 2014. "An Integrated Approach to Modelling the Economy-Society-Ecology System in Urbanization Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-27, April.
    19. Hailiang Ma & Nan-Ting Chou & Lei Wang, 2016. "Dynamic Coupling Analysis of Urbanization and Water Resource Utilization Systems in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-18, November.
    20. Chuyu Xia & Yan Li & Yanmei Ye & Zhou Shi, 2016. "An Integrated Approach to Explore the Relationship Among Economic, Construction Land Use, and Ecology Subsystems in Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-20, May.

    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:55:y:2013:i:c:p:217-233. 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.