Evaluating the relationships among economic growth, energy consumption, air emissions and air environmental protection investment in China

• Published in: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews Vol. 18; pp. 259 - 270
• Main Authors: Zhang, Xiaohong, Wu, Liqian, Zhang, Rong, Deng, Shihuai, Zhang, Yanzong, Wu, Jun, Li, Yuanwei, Lin, Lili, Li, Li, Wang, Yinjun, Wang, Lilin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: air; Air environmental protection investment; Air pollution caused by fuel industries; Applied sciences; China; Economic data; economic development; Economic growth; Economics; Emergy; Emission analysis; emissions; Energy; Energy consumption; Energy economics; energy efficiency; Energy use; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; environmental protection; Exact sciences and technology; Financing; fossil fuels; General aspects; General, economic and professional studies; General. Regulations. Norms. Economy; human health; Impact analysis; Impact of air emissions; Investment; Renewable energy; renewable energy sources; China; China, People's Rep; Energy consumption; Emergy; Impact of air emissions; Air environmental protection investment; Economic growth; China
• ISSN: 1364-0321; 1879-0690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.10.029

This paper analyzed the interactions among China’s economic growth and its energy consumption, air emissions and air environmental protection investment during 2000–2007. Conventional energy and emergy are applied to quantify energy consumption and emissions’ impact, respectively. The five indicators based on money, energy and emergy, including ratio of nonrenewable energy to renewable energy (RNR), energy use per unit GDP (EUPG), environmental cost per unit GDP (ECPG), impact of emissions per unit energy consumption (IEPEC), and environmental benefit per unit environmental protection investment (EBPEI), are presented to depict the relationships among economic growth and energy consumption and impact of air emissions and air environmental protection investment. The results show that energy consumption rapidly rises with China’s fast economic growth; however, energy efficiency and environmental loading intensity from energy consumption are reduced simultaneously but their improvements fall far behind economic growth rate. Impact of air emissions, mainly composed of impact of emissions on human health (especially dust), is slightly decreased. The performance of air environmental protection investment is obviously declined in the study period. Generally speaking, the conflict among economy, energy and air environment protection is slightly mitigated but still acute due to great dependence of China’s economy on fossil energy and inefficient environmental protection measures. Finally, this paper discusses the corresponding issues, and then puts forward some related suggestions.