Heterogeneous Variations on Historical and Future Trends of CO₂ and Multiple Air Pollutants from the Cement Production Process in China: Emission Inventory, Spatial–Temporal Characteristics, and Scenario Projections

Abstract

Cement production is a major contributor to carbon dioxide (CO2) and multiple hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions, threatening climate mitigation and urban/regional air quality improvement. In this study, we established a comprehensive emission inventory by coupling the unit-based bottom-up and mass balance methods, revealing that emissions of most HAPs have been remarkably controlled. However, an increasing 6.0% of atmospheric mercury emissions, as well as 14.1 and 23.7% of fuel-related and process-related CO2 emission growth were witnessed unexpectedly. Industrial adjustment policies have imposed a great impact on the spatiotemporal changes in emission characteristics. Monthly emissions of CO2 and multiple HAPs decreased from December to February due to the “staggered peak production,” especially in northern China after implementing the intensified action plan for air pollution control in winter. Upgrading environmental technologies and adjusting capacity structures are identified as dominant driving forces for reducing HAP emissions. Besides, energy intensity improvement can help offset some of the impact caused by the increase in clinker/cement production. Furthermore, scenario analysis results show that ultra-low emission and low-carbon technology transformation constitute the keys to achieve the synergic reduction of CO2 and multiple HAP emissions in the future.

Does Smart City Construction Decrease Urban Carbon Emission Intensity? Evidence from a Difference-in-Difference Estimation in China

“…It reflects the mutual relationship between pollutants and economic growth and is an important index for evaluating sustainable economic development [6]. The existing literature on the influencing factors of carbon emission intensity is relatively extensive, listing environmental regulation [7,8], the fiscal and taxation system [9,10], urbanisation [11,12], FDI [13,14], international trade [15,16], etc., as factors. The impact of urbanisation on carbon emissions is significant.…”