China has undergone unprecedented increases in material development and by 2010 drove 30% of the global material footprint (MF). Understanding China’s MF distribution and development is critical... Show moreChina has undergone unprecedented increases in material development and by 2010 drove 30% of the global material footprint (MF). Understanding China’s MF distribution and development is critical for resource efficiency and circular economy ambitions globally. We combine a provincial input–output table (IOT), province-specific import–export statistics, a global IOT, and detailed extraction data to assess sector-specific and province-specific MFs in China. Capital investment—crucial to China’s development—is up to 4 times more resource-intensive than consumption and comprises 49 to 86% of provincial MF. We find large differences in MF per capita across provinces, even among those with similar development characteristics. Findings indicate the need for improved understanding of material developments in other emerging countries in the 21st century. Show less
This thesis studied in depth the energy use and CO2 emissions of the industrial sector in China. As discussed in chapter 1, being responsible for about 84% of the Chinese CO2 emissions in 2015, the... Show moreThis thesis studied in depth the energy use and CO2 emissions of the industrial sector in China. As discussed in chapter 1, being responsible for about 84% of the Chinese CO2 emissions in 2015, the industrial sector plays a vital role in achieving the emission goals for China. The regional and sectoral heterogeneities have been considered since the industrial sector is distributed in different regions and consists of different sub-sectors. Chapter 2 studied the regional heterogeneity in industrial carbon intensity and its drivers in specific years of 1999. 2005, 2010 and 2015. Chapter 3 investigated the driving forces of industrial aggregate energy intensity (IAEI) and the contribution of each industrial sub-sector to the changes in IAEI. Chapter 4 studied to what extent performance convergence of energy-intensive industries across provinces can contribute to CO2 emission reductions and China’s emission goals. Chapter 5 provided a critical literature review on the historical drivers of industrial CO2 emissions and the projected ranges for future emissions against the backdrop of policy goals, both for the industrial sector as a whole, and for the major industrial sub-sectors (electricity generation, cement production, steel production, chemicals, petroleum and non-ferrous metals). Show less
Low-carbon (LE) technologies have a significant potential to reduce the total carbon emissions in China. Yet, in existing research, most authors analyzed such implications for China as a whole... Show moreLow-carbon (LE) technologies have a significant potential to reduce the total carbon emissions in China. Yet, in existing research, most authors analyzed such implications for China as a whole rather than the amount of carbon embodied in the products and services for China’s exports. We took a regional approach, since the implementation of LE and the production of products and services for China’s exports very heterogeneously distributed over the various Chinese regions. Current studies also tend to neglect the carbon emissions related to the investments in LE. Against this background, after providing an overview of China’s carbon emissions from a multi-sectoral perspective in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 analyzes the impact of LE development on carbon emissions embodied in the exports of China’s 30 provinces during 2002-2014. Moreover, Chapter 4 focuses on the carbon impact of LE infrastructure expansion using a demand-driven MRIO mode. Finally, Chapter 5 projects the carbon impact of LE investments during 2015-2040. The results show the patterns of carbon impacts of LE development across provinces and over the years, given the dynamic nature of China’s economic development and the heterogeneity of China’s regions. Show less
Yuan, R.; Behrens, P.A.; Dias Rodrigues, J.F. 2018
Energy-related CO2emissions in China have been extensively investigated. However, the mechanisms of how energy-related emissions are driven by inter-sectoral linkages remains unexplored. In this... Show moreEnergy-related CO2emissions in China have been extensively investigated. However, the mechanisms of how energy-related emissions are driven by inter-sectoral linkages remains unexplored. In this paper, a subsystem input-output model was developed to investigate the temporal and sectoral changes of emissions in China from 1997 to 2012. We decomposed total emissions into internal, spillover, feedback, and direct components. Our results show that the equipment manufacturing, construction and services sectors are the main sources of emissions during the whole period, which have a larger spillover component, primarily through indirect upstream emissions in the heavy-manufacturing, transportation, and power sectors. The emissions from the power and transportation sectors are dominated by direct rather than the spillover emissions. The shares of the feedback and internal components in the heavy manufacturing sectors were significantly higher than those of other sectors. Our results suggest that further addressing carbon emissions along the supply chain of equipment manufacturing, construction and services sectors, and improving technologies in the heavy manufacturing and power sectors holds important future opportunities for curbing the rapid growth of carbon emissions in China. Show less
Sustainability challenges raised by built environment development are two-folds: on the inflow side these include resource depletion and emission problems due to material production (pre-use); on... Show moreSustainability challenges raised by built environment development are two-folds: on the inflow side these include resource depletion and emission problems due to material production (pre-use); on the outflow side they include problems of construction and demolition waste (after-use). Understanding how the future construction inflow and demolition outflow will develop is essential for early recognition of these problems. A traditional approach is through extrapolation, which is risky because changes of trends may occur. A Dynamic Material Flow Analysis approach, based on the Law of Mass Preservation, provides a better framework for long-term projection. The challenge is to understand the dynamics of the built environment stocks. It is especially true for the emerging countries, where the combined influences of rapid economic development and urbanization have to be considered but are yet rarely investigated. This thesis develops the currently available approaches by including general socio-economic and specific urbanization-driven factors in China. Case studies on Chinese housing stock dynamics indicate: demolition activities in Chinese cities will continue to grow throughout the rest of the 21st century; a shrinking demand for residential steel may be expected over the next few decades, which may lead to a decrease in global steel consumption of up to 10%. Show less
