IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v15y2011i8p3658-3668.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Quantification of provincial-level carbon emissions from energy consumption in China

Author

Listed:
  • Geng, Yuhuan
  • Tian, Mingzhong
  • Zhu, Qiuan
  • Zhang, Jianjun
  • Peng, Changhui

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emission inventories are useful tools for monitoring air quality and assisting local policy development. This article estimates CO2 emission inventories from energy consumption and carbon intensities of provinces and municipalities in Mainland China in 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2005–2008 using the IPCC mass balance approach. Results show that China's coal-based energy structure and unique economic development have heavily impacted CO2 emissions. Fortunately, although coal consumption has increased to over 70% of all fuel use, the share of CO2 emissions from coal has gradually decreased due to energy consumption restructuring. The switch from coal-dominance to cleaner, renewable energies (wind, solar, natural gas, nuclear power, geothermal, biomass energy) will undoubtedly reduce CO2 emissions in China. Results also indicate that carbon intensity has improved steadily, as China's economic development introduces new technologies intended to minimize environmental pollution and destruction. Our results suggest that China's CO2 emissions may not be as high as expected in future, and will gradually lessen.

Suggested Citation

  • Geng, Yuhuan & Tian, Mingzhong & Zhu, Qiuan & Zhang, Jianjun & Peng, Changhui, 2011. "Quantification of provincial-level carbon emissions from energy consumption in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(8), pages 3658-3668.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:15:y:2011:i:8:p:3658-3668
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032111002395
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2011.07.005?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. Hwang, Jenn Jiang, 2011. "Policy review of greenhouse gas emission reduction in Taiwan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 1392-1402, February.
    2. Zhang, Xing-Ping & Cheng, Xiao-Mei, 2009. "Energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2706-2712, August.
    3. Kennedy, Christopher & Steinberger, Julia & Gasson, Barrie & Hansen, Yvonne & Hillman, Timothy & Havránek, Miroslav & Pataki, Diane & Phdungsilp, Aumnad & Ramaswami, Anu & Mendez, Gara Villalba, 2010. "Methodology for inventorying greenhouse gas emissions from global cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 4828-4837, September.
    4. Li, Li & Chen, Changhong & Xie, Shichen & Huang, Cheng & Cheng, Zhen & Wang, Hongli & Wang, Yangjun & Huang, Haiying & Lu, Jun & Dhakal, Shobhakar, 2010. "Energy demand and carbon emissions under different development scenarios for Shanghai, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(9), pages 4797-4807, September.
    5. Kevin Robert Gurney, 2009. "China at the carbon crossroads," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7241), pages 977-979, April.
    6. Ramanathan, Ramakrishnan, 2005. "An analysis of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in countries of the Middle East and North Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(15), pages 2831-2842.
    7. Wu, Jisong & Zhang, Yongjie, 2008. "Olympic Games promote the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in Beijing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3422-3426, September.
    8. Wong, James W.K., 2010. "City-gas development in China--An NG perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 2107-2109, May.
    9. Wang, Qiang & Chen, Yong, 2010. "Energy saving and emission reduction revolutionizing China's environmental protection," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 535-539, January.
    10. Jiang, Bing & Sun, Zhenqing & Liu, Meiqin, 2010. "China's energy development strategy under the low-carbon economy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 4257-4264.
    11. Dhakal, Shobhakar, 2009. "Urban energy use and carbon emissions from cities in China and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4208-4219, November.
    12. Tsoutsos, Theocharis & Papadopoulou, Eleni & Katsiri, Alexandra & Papadopoulos, Agis M., 2008. "Supporting schemes for renewable energy sources and their impact on reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases in Greece," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 12(7), pages 1767-1788, September.
    13. Ko, Fu-Kuang & Huang, Chang-Bin & Tseng, Pei-Ying & Lin, Chung-Han & Zheng, Bo-Yan & Chiu, Hsiu-Mei, 2010. "Long-term CO2 emissions reduction target and scenarios of power sector in Taiwan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 288-300, January.
    14. Abbasi, Tasneem & Premalatha, M. & Abbasi, S.A., 2011. "The return to renewables: Will it help in global warming control?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 891-894, January.
    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, Zhu & Liang, Sai & Geng, Yong & Xue, Bing & Xi, Fengming & Pan, Ying & Zhang, Tianzhu & Fujita, Tsuyoshi, 2012. "Features, trajectories and driving forces for energy-related GHG emissions from Chinese mega cites: The case of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 245-254.
    2. Li, J.S. & Chen, G.Q., 2013. "Energy and greenhouse gas emissions review for Macao," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 23-32.
    3. Bi, Jun & Zhang, Rongrong & Wang, Haikun & Liu, Miaomiao & Wu, Yi, 2011. "The benchmarks of carbon emissions and policy implications for China's cities: Case of Nanjing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 4785-4794, September.
    4. Liu, Xue & Ma, Shoufeng & Tian, Junfang & Jia, Ning & Li, Geng, 2015. "A system dynamics approach to scenario analysis for urban passenger transport energy consumption and CO2 emissions: A case study of Beijing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 253-270.
    5. Wang, Yafei & Zhao, Hongyan & Li, Liying & Liu, Zhu & Liang, Sai, 2013. "Carbon dioxide emission drivers for a typical metropolis using input–output structural decomposition analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 312-318.
    6. Xi, Fengming & Geng, Yong & Chen, Xudong & Zhang, Yunsong & Wang, Xinbei & Xue, Bing & Dong, Huijuan & Liu, Zhu & Ren, Wanxia & Fujita, Tsuyoshi & Zhu, Qinghua, 2011. "Contributing to local policy making on GHG emission reduction through inventorying and attribution: A case study of Shenyang, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 5999-6010, October.
    7. Liu, Xiaoyu & Duan, Zhiyuan & Shan, Yuli & Duan, Haiyan & Wang, Shuo & Song, Junnian & Wang, Xian'en, 2019. "Low-carbon developments in Northeast China: Evidence from cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1019-1033.
    8. Wang, Chen & Engels, Anita & Wang, Zhaohua, 2018. "Overview of research on China's transition to low-carbon development: The role of cities, technologies, industries and the energy system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 1350-1364.
    9. Su, Yongxian & Chen, Xiuzhi & Li, Yong & Liao, Jishan & Ye, Yuyao & Zhang, Hongou & Huang, Ningsheng & Kuang, Yaoqiu, 2014. "China׳s 19-year city-level carbon emissions of energy consumptions, driving forces and regionalized mitigation guidelines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 231-243.
    10. Muhammad, Shahbaz & Lean, Hooi Hooi & Muhammad, Shahbaz Shabbir, 2011. "Environmental Kuznets Curve and the role of energy consumption in Pakistan," MPRA Paper 34929, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 22 Nov 2011.
    11. Chang, Chia-Lin & Mai, Te-Ke & McAleer, Michael, 2019. "Establishing national carbon emission prices for China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-16.
    12. Lin, Jianyi & Liu, Yuan & Meng, Fanxin & Cui, Shenghui & Xu, Lilai, 2013. "Using hybrid method to evaluate carbon footprint of Xiamen City, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 220-227.
    13. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Hye, Qazi Muhammad Adnan & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Leitão, Nuno Carlos, 2013. "Economic growth, energy consumption, financial development, international trade and CO2 emissions in Indonesia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 109-121.
    14. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Salah Uddin, Gazi & Ur Rehman, Ijaz & Imran, Kashif, 2014. "Industrialization, electricity consumption and CO2 emissions in Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 575-586.
    15. Wang, Yafei & Liang, Sai, 2013. "Carbon dioxide mitigation target of China in 2020 and key economic sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 90-96.
    16. Cai, Bofeng & Lu, Jun & Wang, Jinnan & Dong, Huijuan & Liu, Xiaoman & Chen, Yang & Chen, Zhanming & Cong, Jianhui & Cui, Zhipeng & Dai, Chunyan & Fang, Kai & Feng, Tong & Guo, Jie & Li, Fen & Meng, Fa, 2019. "A benchmark city-level carbon dioxide emission inventory for China in 2005," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 659-673.
    17. Jianjian He & Pengyan Zhang, 2018. "Evaluating the Coordination of Industrial-Economic Development Based on Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions in Henan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-19, August.
    18. Xuankai Deng & Yanhua Yu & Yanfang Liu, 2015. "Temporal and Spatial Variations in Provincial CO 2 Emissions in China from 2005 to 2015 and Assessment of a Reduction Plan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-23, May.
    19. Faridul, Islam & Muhammad, Shahbaz, 2012. "Is There an Environmental Kuznets Curve for Bangladesh?," MPRA Paper 38490, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 30 Apr 2012.
    20. Chen, Qianli & Cai, Bofeng & Dhakal, Shobhakar & Pei, Sha & Liu, Chunlan & Shi, Xiaoping & Hu, Fangfang, 2017. "CO2 emission data for Chinese cities," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 198-208.

    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:rensus:v:15:y:2011:i:8:p:3658-3668. 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/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    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.