Decoupling and Decomposition Analysis of Carbon Emissions from Industry: A Case Study from China

Self Cite

Abstract:The transport sector is the major green-house gas emitter and most rapidly growing sector in terms of consuming energy in China. Understanding the driving forces behind carbon emission is a prerequisite for reducing carbon emissions and finding a balance between economic growth and carbon emissions. The purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of the factors which influence the level of carbon emissions from the transportation sector in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) area, China, using decomposition model, combined with a decoupling elasticity index. The results of our study indicate that: (1) changes in the level of carbon emissions from the transportation sector are not always synchronized with changes in economic growth. (2) The decoupling state between the carbon emissions and economic growth of Tianjin and Beijing can be roughly divided into two phases. The first phase was during the 2005 to 2009 period, when the decoupling state was pessimistic. The second phase was from 2009 to 2013, when the decoupling state became better overall and was mainly dominated by weak decoupling. Conversely, the decoupling state of Hebei was mainly weak during this period. (3) Economic growth and population size play positive roles in increasing the levels of transportation-related carbon emissions in BTH. However, the energy structure is a negative force. The effect of energy intensity always plays a negative role in Tianjin and Hebei, but positive in Beijing. The industrial structure effect shows a fluctuating trend, but the cumulative effect value is negative, and negative interaction is prominent. Finally, this paper gives some suggestions on how to develop low-carbon transport in BTH area.

Section: Calculation the Carbon Emission In Transportation Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of Decoupling and Influencing Factors of Carbon Emissions from the Transportation Sector in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area, China

Zhu

2017

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“…The reason explaining this result lies in the fact that natural gas is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel, as explained before. Indeed, natural gas is a much cleaner fuel source than crude oil and its derivatives, since its combustion produces 20%-30% less carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) compared to other petroleum-based products [58,59].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative “from Cradle to Gate” Life Cycle Assessments of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Materials

Moretti

Mandrone²,

D’Andrea

et al. 2017

Abstract:The objective of this work is to compare the environmental impact of two different hot mix asphalt (HMA) materials used for road construction in Italy. The analyses used a "from cradle to gate" Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) boundary system and the methodology included considerations about raw materials and fuel supply, as well as transport and manufacturing processes. Primary data provided by the producers and secondary data available in the literature were used as part of the analyses. The results suggest that the proposed method offers rigorous criteria for a comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact of HMA materials, which could be used, among others, as an evaluation parameter in public bids.

“…To eliminate the influence of inflation, we converted the data relating to the GDP of each year into constant prices, using the year 2005 as a benchmark. The CO 2 emission factors of fossil fuels were extracted from the GHG Protocol Tool for Energy Consumption in China [40,[54][55][56], as shown in Table 1. The data on the emission factors of power and related calculation methods were obtained from Factor Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis on CO 2 Emissions: Evidence from China's Circulation Sector [1], as shown in Table 2.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unit: 1 t CO 2 /1 t fuel, or 1 t CO 2 /1 t gas. The CO 2 emissions caused by the construction industry come from two primary sources, namely (1) direct CO 2 emissions (that is, the CO 2 emissions generated by the activities of the construction industry itself), and (2) indirect CO 2 emissions (that is, the CO 2 emissions generated by other-but related-industries, as induced by the construction industry) [40,[56][57][58]. For the purposes of this paper, the carbon emission sources of the construction industry are defined as those CO 2 emissions generated by the direct consumption of the construction industry of six types of energy (coal, gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, natural gas and power), as well as the CO 2 emissions generated by other industries in the process of producing four types of construction materials (cement, steel, glass and aluminum).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Low-Carbon Construction Industry in Jiangsu Province: Evidence from Decomposition and Decoupling Models

Jiang

2017

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Abstract:The carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions caused by the global construction industry account for 36% of the world's total carbon emissions, and 50% of China's total carbon emissions. The carbon emissions from Jiangsu Province's construction industry account for approximately 16% of the total emissions of the Chinese construction industry. Taking the construction industry in Jiangsu Province as our study object, therefore, this paper introduces the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon emission accounting method as a means to measure the total CO 2 emissions of the Jiangsu Province construction industry. Specifically, we examine the period from 2005 to 2013. Based on the Tapio decoupling model, we analyze the decoupling state between the CO 2 emissions of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province and the province's economic growth. Our paper also employs the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) approach, in order to conduct a decomposition analysis of those factors that influenced the changes in the level of CO 2 emissions during the studied period. According to the results of our research, during the period from 2005 to 2013, the CO 2 emission levels caused by the construction industry in Jiangsu Province experienced a significant increase. The cumulative total CO 2 emissions reached 402.85 million tons. During most of the years covered by our study, an expansive negative decoupling state existed between the level of CO 2 emissions and the output value of Jiangsu's construction industry. These periods were interspersed with either a weak decoupling state in some years or a strong decoupling state in other years. The indirect carbon emission intensity effect and the industry scale effect were the main factors influencing the increases in the construction industry's CO 2 emissions. At the conclusion of our paper, we put forward policy suggestions, with the objective of promoting the de-carbonization of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province.