The geography of urban greenhouse gas emissions in Asia: A regional analysis

• Published in: Global environmental change Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 944 - 958
• Main Authors: Marcotullio, Peter J., Sarzynski, Andrea, Albrecht, Jochen, Schulz, Niels
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2012
• Subjects: Asia; Carbon emissions; EDGAR; Environmental change; Geography; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gas emissions; Income; Population; Regression analysis; Urban; Urban studies; Urban; Greenhouse gas emissions; Asia; EDGAR
• ISSN: 0959-3780; 1872-9495
• DOI: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.07.002

► Asian urban GHG emissions account for between 30 and 38% of total emissions. ► Urban population size, density and income positively correlate with GHGs emissions. ► Urban income however, is non-linearly (squared and cubic) related to urban GHG emissions. ► Growth rate is inversely related to urban GHG emissions. ► While findings confirm other studies, given data uncertainties, more analysis is necessary. This paper aims to advance two objectives: (1) identify and explore greenhouse gas emissions from urban areas in Asia at the regional level; and (2) explore covariates of urban greenhouse gas emissions. We use the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research estimates for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and sulfur hexafluoride from 14 source activities for the year 2000, which are allocated on a 1/10° global grid. We extract emissions for 3535 urban extents all with populations over 50,000, accounting for approximately 91% of the region's urban population. We use regression analysis to associate emissions with urban area and growth, economic, and biophysical characteristics. Our findings suggest that urban areas account for between 30 and 38% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions for the region and that emission per capita averages from urban areas are lower than those at the national level. Important covariates for total urban greenhouse gas emissions include population size, density and growth rate, income per capita, development status and elevation. This is a first and preliminary assessment of regional baseline trends using these data and this top-down analysis.