China’s provincial CO₂ emissions embodied in trade with implications for regional climate policy

Abstract

CO₂ emissions embodied in trade have an important and far-reaching impact on CO₂ emissions reduction obligations. Based on a multi-regional input–output analysis, this paper calculates China’s provincial CO₂ emissions embodied in trade and analyzes CO₂ emissions embodied in trade per unit of value of trade in 30 Chinese provinces. Several climate policy options that potentially reduce the impact of trade on individual provinces are discussed. One finding from this study is that provincial CO₂ emissions embodied in trade accounted for approximately 60.02% of China’s CO₂ emissions in 2007. The CO₂ emissions embodied in imports and exports for 30 Chinese provinces differ widely, and remarkable differences in the CO₂ emissions embodied in trade per unit of value of trade exist. Another important finding is that if provinces take binding commitments as a part of a coalition, instead of as individual provinces, then the impacts of trade can be reduced. Notably, however, the extent of reduction in a coalition varies in different provinces.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

multi-regional input–output analysis / value of trade / cooperation

Zhangqi ZHONG is a Ph. D. candidate in cartography and geographic information systems at the Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, East China Normal University. He received his B.S. in geographical science from Hunan University of Science and Technology in 2009, and M.S. in human geography from East China Normal University in 2012. His research interests include geocomputation and policy simulation, E-mail address: [e-mail].

Qinneng TANG is a Ph. D. candidate in management science and engineering at the Institute of Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received his B.S. in information management and information systems from Lanzhou University in 2008, and M.S. in information science and engineering from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2011. His research interest is computational economics. E-mail address: [e-mail].

Zheng WANG is currently a Professor of geography and management at the Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, East China Normal University and Institute of Policy and Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received his M.S., B.S. and Ph. D from East China Normal University. His research interests include geocomputation, policy simulation, regional science, policy modeling and simulations, and computational economics. He has published more than 200 academic papers and edited 14 books, scientific proceedings, and software systems. E-mail address: [e-mail].

Xiaonan CONG is a Post doctorate at the Institute for Urban and Environmental Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He received his B.S. in business management from China Agricultural University in 2006, and M.S. in cartography and geographic information systems from East China Normal University in 2009, and Ph. D in management science and engineering from Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2012. His research interests include computational economics, urban information systems, and urban simulation. E-mail address: [e-mail].

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Acknowledgments

We thank the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their useful suggestions and valuable comments. Financial support from the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB955800) is gratefully acknowledged.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg