IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v62y2019icp496-506.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolution of the global coal trade network: A complex network analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Wenya
  • Li, Zhenfu
  • Cheng, Xin

Abstract

The evolution of the global coal trade flow among countries impacts coal trade systems operation, coal resource exploitation and global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Several strategies of sustainable development to counteract the impacts of the evolution of the global coal trade network (GCTN) have been proposed. However, the effective implementation of such strategies requires a clear understanding of the evolution of the GCTN and its impacts. This paper focuses on the analysis of the features of the evolution of the GCTN. It builds a complex network model of the global coal trade based on the international coal trade data from 1996 to 2015 and especially explores the evolution of the global coal trade from both continuous time series and comparative perspectives. Through network analysis, the main findings obtained are as follows. (1) The GCTN is scale-free, which means that a tiny minority of countries own many coal transportation partners, and a marked majority of countries own a few. (2) Although Japan, India and South Korea were the top three countries in terms of coal traffic volume in 2015, their intermediate function was weak; Russia and Italy lost their intermediate importance over time. (3) There existed an obvious alteration in that the centre of the network moved to Asia from North America and that the uneven flow distribution of the network became more intense. These results suggest that due to the scale-freeness of the GCTN, global policy makers should establish an international policy environment and strengthen the protection of countries that are important for coal trade, which are defined as key nodes in the GCTN and include the USA, China, and India, to ensure the stable operation of the network and maintain coal transport security. In addition, the findings indicate the huge effects of Asia’s coal consumption on the global CO2 emissions in recent years. Policy aimed at reducing Asia’s CO2 emissions should be adopted for the reduction of global emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Wenya & Li, Zhenfu & Cheng, Xin, 2019. "Evolution of the global coal trade network: A complex network analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 496-506.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:62:y:2019:i:c:p:496-506
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.10.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420718304136
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.10.005?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. Hao, Xiaoqing & An, Haizhong & Sun, Xiaoqi & Zhong, Weiqiong, 2018. "The import competition relationship and intensity in the international iron ore trade: From network perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 45-54.
    2. Dong, Di & Gao, Xiangyun & Sun, Xiaoqi & Liu, Xueyong, 2018. "Factors affecting the formation of copper international trade community: Based on resource dependence and network theory," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 167-185.
    3. César Ducruet & Sung-Woo Lee & Adolf Ng, 2010. "Centrality and vulnerability in liner shipping networks : revisiting the Northeast Asian port hierarchy," Post-Print hal-03246966, HAL.
    4. Zhong, Weiqiong & An, Haizhong & Fang, Wei & Gao, Xiangyun & Dong, Di, 2016. "Features and evolution of international fossil fuel trade network based on value of emergy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 868-877.
    5. Geng, Jiang-Bo & Ji, Qiang & Fan, Ying, 2014. "A dynamic analysis on global natural gas trade network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 23-33.
    6. Gao, Cuixia & Sun, Mei & Shen, Bo, 2015. "Features and evolution of international fossil energy trade relationships: A weighted multilayer network analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 542-554.
    7. César Ducruet & Sung-Woo Lee & Adolf K.Y. Ng, 2010. "Centrality and vulnerability in liner shipping networks: revisiting the Northeast Asian port hierarchy," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 17-36, January.
    8. Zhang, Xiaohang & Cui, Huiyuan & Zhu, Ji & Du, Yu & Wang, Qi & Shi, Wenhua, 2017. "Measuring the dissimilarity of multiplex networks: An empirical study of international trade networks," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 467(C), pages 380-394.
    9. Isabella Cingolani & Lelio Iapadre & Lucia Tajoli, 2018. "International production networks and the world trade structure," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 153, pages 11-33.
    10. Dong, Di & An, Haizhong & Huang, Shupei, 2017. "The transfer of embodied carbon in copper international trade: An industry chain perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 173-180.
    11. Zhong, Weiqiong & An, Haizhong & Shen, Lei & Fang, Wei & Gao, Xiangyun & Dong, Di, 2017. "The roles of countries in the international fossil fuel trade: An emergy and network analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 365-376.
    12. Xu, Mengqiao & Li, Zhenfu & Shi, Yanlei & Zhang, Xiaoling & Jiang, Shufei, 2015. "Evolution of regional inequality in the global shipping network," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-12.
    13. An, Haizhong & Zhong, Weiqiong & Chen, Yurong & Li, Huajiao & Gao, Xiangyun, 2014. "Features and evolution of international crude oil trade relationships: A trading-based network analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 254-259.
    14. Iapadre, P. Lelio & Tajoli, Lucia, 2014. "Emerging countries and trade regionalization. A network analysis," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 36(S1), pages 89-110.
    15. Geronimi, Vincent & Taranco, Armand, 2018. "Revisiting the Prebisch-Singer hypothesis of a secular decline in the terms of trade of primary commodities (1900–2016). A dynamic regime approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 329-339.
    16. Candogan, Ozan & Epitropou, Markos & Vohra, Rakesh V., 2016. "Competitive Equilibrium and Trading Networks: A Network Flow Approach," Economics Series 323, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    17. Du, Ruijin & Wang, Ya & Dong, Gaogao & Tian, Lixin & Liu, Yixiao & Wang, Minggang & Fang, Guochang, 2017. "A complex network perspective on interrelations and evolution features of international oil trade, 2002–2013," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 142-151.
    18. Jing-Li Fan & Qian Wang & Shiwei Yu & Yun-Bing Hou & Yi-Ming Wei, 2017. "The evolution of CO2 emissions in international trade for major economies: a perspective from the global supply chain," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 1229-1248, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Hongwei & Wang, Ying & Zhu, Xuehong & Guo, Yaoqi, 2020. "The impact of energy trade patterns on CO2 emissions: An emergy and network analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    2. Song, Yi & Bai, Wenbo & Zhang, Yijun, 2024. "Resilience assessment of trade network in copper industry chain and the risk resistance capacity of core countries: Based on complex network," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Chen, Wei & Zhang, Jianing & Yu, Zhaoyuan & Zhao, Xiquan, 2024. "Structure and evolution of global lead trade network: An industrial chain perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Chen, Wei & Niu, Xiaoyu & Ke, Wenqian & Yu, Zhaoyuan, 2023. "Investigating the energy trade networks in the Belt and Road regions: Structures and evolution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    5. Wu, Xuehui & Wu, Zhong & Hu, Jun, 2022. "Global competitiveness analysis of industrial robot technology innovations market layout using visibility graph," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 603(C).
    6. Wang, Wenya & Fan, L.W. & Zhou, P., 2022. "Evolution of global fossil fuel trade dependencies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PC).
    7. Nurul Atiqah Binti Mohd Suib & Norlida Hanim Mohd Salleh & Mohd Fazim Ahmad, 2023. "The economic well-being of smallholders and challenges during COVID-19 pandemic: A review," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 69(1), pages 35-44.
    8. Shade T. Shutters & Keith Waters & Rachata Muneepeerakul, 2022. "Triad Analysis of Global Energy Trade Networks and Implications for Energy Trade Stability," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    9. Zhang, Hongwei & Wang, Ying & Yang, Cai & Guo, Yaoqi, 2021. "The impact of country risk on energy trade patterns based on complex network and panel regression analyses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    10. Wang, Yue & Liu, Guwang & Zhang, Yan & Guo, Xiaoqian & Guo, Shaobo, 2024. "The impact of the evolution of the iron raw material trade pattern on the national economy: The B&R perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    11. Wang, Chao & Huang, Xia & Hu, Xiaoqian & Zhao, Longfeng & Liu, Chao & Ghadimi, Pezhman, 2021. "Trade characteristics, competition patterns and COVID-19 related shock propagation in the global solar photovoltaic cell trade," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    12. Zhao, Guimei & Li, Wenxiu & Geng, Yong & Bleischwitz, Raimund, 2023. "Uncovering the features of global antimony resource trade network," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    13. Baskoro, Firly Rachmaditya & Takahashi, Katsuhiko & Morikawa, Katsumi & Nagasawa, Keisuke, 2022. "Multi-objective optimization on total cost and carbon dioxide emission of coal supply for coal-fired power plants in Indonesia," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Kang, Xinyu & Wang, Minxi & Wang, Taixin & Luo, Fanjie & Lin, Jing & Li, Xin, 2022. "Trade trends and competition intensity of international copper flow based on complex network: From the perspective of industry chain," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Du, Yuxian & Lin, Xi & Pan, Ye & Chen, Zhaoxin & Xia, Huan & Luo, Qian, 2023. "Identifying influential airports in airline network based on failure risk factors with TOPSIS," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    16. Cai, Xiaomei & Liu, Chan & Zheng, Shuxian & Hu, Han & Tan, Zhanglu, 2023. "Analysis on the evolution characteristics of barite international trade pattern based on complex networks," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. Lu, Shuai & Li, Shouwei & Zhou, Wei & Yang, Wenke, 2022. "Network herding of energy funds in the post-Carbon-Peak Policy era: Does it benefit profitability and stability?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    18. Wang, Chunhui & Zhong, Weiqiong & Wang, Anjian & Sun, Xiaoqi & Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Xingxing, 2021. "Mapping the evolution of international antimony ores trade pattern based on complex network," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    19. Aizhi Yu & Huiling She & Jingsheng Cao, 2023. "Evolution of the Spatial Patterns of Global Egg Trading Networks in the 21 Century," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    20. Huang, Jianbai & Ding, Qian & Wang, Ying & Hong, Huojun & Zhang, Hongwei, 2021. "The evolution and influencing factors of international tungsten competition from the industrial chain perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    21. Shu-Hao Chang, 2022. "Examining Key Technologies Among Academic Patents Through an Analysis of Standard-Essential Patents," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, July.
    22. Shaowei Chen & Qiang (Patrick) Qiang, 2020. "The Trade Network Structure of the “One Belt and One Road” and Its Environmental Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, April.
    23. Zhang, Dezhi & Zhang, Fangtao & Liang, Yijing, 2021. "An evolutionary model of the international logistics network based on the Belt and Road perspective," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 572(C).
    24. Qiaowen Zhang & Benjamin Batinge, 2021. "A social network analysis of the structure and evolution of intra‐African trade," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(1), pages 204-217, March.
    25. Wang, Wenya & Fan, Liwei & Li, Zhenfu & Zhou, Peng & Chen, Xue, 2021. "Measuring dynamic competitive relationship and intensity among the global coal importing trade," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).

    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. Wang, Wenya & Li, Zhenfu, 2019. "The evolution of China’s interregional coal trade network, 1997–2016," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 536(C).
    2. Wang, Wenya & Fan, Liwei & Li, Zhenfu & Zhou, Peng & Chen, Xue, 2021. "Measuring dynamic competitive relationship and intensity among the global coal importing trade," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    3. Wang, Wenya & Fan, L.W. & Zhou, P., 2022. "Evolution of global fossil fuel trade dependencies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PC).
    4. Kitamura, Toshihiko & Managi, Shunsuke, 2017. "Driving force and resistance: Network feature in oil trade," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 361-375.
    5. Zhang, Hongwei & Wang, Ying & Yang, Cai & Guo, Yaoqi, 2021. "The impact of country risk on energy trade patterns based on complex network and panel regression analyses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    6. Xi, Xian & Zhou, Jinsheng & Gao, Xiangyun & Liu, Donghui & Zheng, Huiling & Sun, Qingru, 2019. "Impact of changes in crude oil trade network patterns on national economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Kang, Xinyu & Wang, Minxi & Wang, Taixin & Luo, Fanjie & Lin, Jing & Li, Xin, 2022. "Trade trends and competition intensity of international copper flow based on complex network: From the perspective of industry chain," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Yaya Li & Yongtao Peng & Jianqiang Luo & Yihan Cheng & Eleonora Veglianti, 2019. "Spatial-temporal variation characteristics and evolution of the global industrial robot trade: A complex network analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-14, September.
    9. Wei, Na & Xie, Wen-Jie & Zhou, Wei-Xing, 2022. "Robustness of the international oil trade network under targeted attacks to economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    10. Ren, Shuai & Li, Huajiao & Wang, Yanli & Guo, Chen & Feng, Sida & Wang, Xingxing, 2021. "Comparative study of the China and U.S. import trade structure based on the global chromium ore trade network," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Liu, Haiping & Li, Huajiao & Qi, Yajie & An, Pengli & Shi, Jianglan & Liu, Yanxin, 2021. "Identification of high-risk agents and relationships in nickel, cobalt, and lithium trade based on resource-dependent networks," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Sutrisno, Aziiz & Nomaler, Ӧnder & Alkemade, Floor, 2021. "Has the global expansion of energy markets truly improved energy security?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PA).
    13. Wen-Jie Xie & Na Wei & Wei-Xing Zhou, 2020. "Evolving efficiency and robustness of global oil trade networks," Papers 2004.05325, arXiv.org.
    14. Liu, Nairong & An, Haizhong & Hao, Xiaoqing & Feng, Sida, 2017. "The stability of the international heat pump trade pattern based on complex networks analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 100-117.
    15. Guan, Qing & An, Haizhong, 2017. "The exploration on the trade preferences of cooperation partners in four energy commodities’ international trade: Crude oil, coal, natural gas and photovoltaic," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 154-163.
    16. Wu, Gang & Pu, Yue & Shu, Tianran, 2021. "Features and evolution of global energy trade network based on domestic value-added decomposition of export," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    17. Xie, Wen-Jie & Wei, Na & Zhou, Wei-Xing, 2023. "An interpretable machine-learned model for international oil trade network," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    18. Cai, Xiaomei & Liu, Chan & Zheng, Shuxian & Hu, Han & Tan, Zhanglu, 2023. "Analysis on the evolution characteristics of barite international trade pattern based on complex networks," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    19. N. Wei & W. -J. Xie & W. -X. Zhou, 2021. "Robustness of the international oil trade network under targeted attacks to economies," Papers 2101.10679, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2021.
    20. Gao, Cuixia & Tao, Simin & Su, Bin & Mensah, Isaac Adjei & Sun, Mei, 2023. "Exploring renewable energy trade coopetition relationships: Evidence from belt and road countries, 1996-2018," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 196-209.

    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:jrpoli:v:62:y:2019:i:c:p:496-506. 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/inca/30467 .

    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.