Urban energy use and carbon emissions from cities in China and policy implications

• Published in: Energy policy Vol. 37; no. 11; pp. 4208 - 4219
• Main Author: Dhakal, Shobhakar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2009; Elsevier; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Series: Energy Policy
• Subjects: Abatement; Applied sciences; Carbon dioxide; China; China (People's Republic); Cities and towns; Climate change; Economic data; Emissions; Energy; Energy consumption; Energy economics; Energy industry; Energy policy; Energy utilization; Environment; Environmental economics; Environmental policy; Exact sciences and technology; General, economic and professional studies; Global warming; Methodology. Modelling; Pollution; Studies; Urban areas; Urban carbon management; Urban economics; Urban energy uses; Urban energy uses Urban carbon management China; Asia; China; Urban energy uses; China; Urban carbon management; Energy consumption; Distribution by sources; Pollution control; Pollution prevention; Carbon dioxide; Energy economy; Demographic evolution; Econometric model; Energy policy; Urban area; Regression analysis; Pollutant emission; Energy intensity; Distribution by activities; Economic growth; Town; Technological change
• ISSN: 0301-4215; 1873-6777
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2009.05.020

Urban areas contain 40% of the population and contribute 75% of the Chinese national economy. Thus, a better understanding of urban energy uses is necessary for Chinese decision-makers at various levels to address energy security, climate change mitigation, and local pollution abatement. Therefore, this paper addresses three key questions: What is the urban contribution to China's energy usage and CO 2 emissions? What is the contribution of large cities, and what alternate energy–economy pathways are they following? How have energy uses and CO 2 emissions transformed in the last two decades in key Chinese cities? This three-tier analysis illustrates the changes in urban energy uses and CO 2 emissions in China. The results show that the urban contributions make up 84% of China's commercial energy usage. The 35 largest cities in China, which contain 18% of the population, contribute 40% of China's energy uses and CO 2 emissions. In four provincial cities, the per capita energy usage and CO 2 emissions have increased several-fold. Rapid progress was made in reducing the carbon intensity of economic activities in cities throughout the 1990s, but alarmingly, such progress has either slowed down or been reversed in the last few years. These results have important policy implications.