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Carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions and climate change risk have become constraints on global economic sustainable development. Environmental regulation (ER) is a key method for achieving synergy in CO 2 and pollution reduction in China. This paper is the first study to explore the effects of ER on CO 2 emissions by exploiting the National Environmental Protection 11th Five-Year Plan (NEP11-FYP). The implementation of the NEP11-FYP significantly decreases CO 2 emissions by 19.73% in key environmental cities relative to other cities. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that this negative impact is larger in western cities and cities with more pressure to reduce CO 2 emissions. Scale effects, structural effects, and technical effects might be three potential influencing channels through which ER contributes to the CO 2 reduction effect. In addition, the results of the spatial externality of the NEP11-FYP demonstrate a positive spillover effect in neighboring cities within a distance of 300 km and a negative spillover effect in cities more than 500 km away. Our empirical findings provide policy implications for implementing low-carbon transition strategies and reducing CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, based on the panel data of 284 Chinese prefecture level and above cities span 2010 to 2019, systematically investigated the relationship between digital economy and air pollution, with introducing difference-in-differences model, mediating effect model, and spatial difference-in-differences model, as well as treating the "National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Area" policy as a quasi natural experiment. Finally, results show that:(1) Digital economy does negatively affect air pollution, in particular the industrial dust, followed by industrial sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. All these benchmark results have withstood the robustness test. (2) Almost all the mediating roles of industry structure upgrading, industry intensive development, and online life in the relationship between digital economy and air pollution have been confirmed, except it is partly absent in the digital economy-industrial dust nexus and the digital economy-industrial sulfur dioxide linkage. (3) Negative spatial spillover effect is evident between digital economy and air pollution, regardless of involving the neighboring pilot cities or the non pilot cities. (4) The passive air pollution effect of digital economy varies with the regional distribution, administrative scale, marketization level, and government competitiveness. All these findings shed new lights on government intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetlands have exacerbated global warming, attracting worldwide attention. However, the research process and development trends in this field remain unknown. Herein, 1865 papers related to wetlands GHG emissions published from January 2000 to December 2023 were selected, and CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis to visually analyze the publications distribution, research authors, organizations and countries, core journal and keywords, and discussed the research progress, trends and hotspots in the fields. Over the past 24 years, the research has gone through three phases: the "embryonic" stage (2000–2006), the accumulation stage (2007–2014), and the acceleration stage (2015–2023). China has played a pivotal role in this domain, publishing the most papers and working closely with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In addition, this study synthesized 311 field observations from 123 publications to analyze the variability in GHG emissions and their driving factors in four different types of natural wetlands. The results suggested that the average carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes in different wetlands were significantly different. River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes, while marsh wetlands demonstrated greater global warming potential (GWP). The average CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes were 60.41 mg m−2·h−1, 2.52 mg m−2·h−1 and 0.05 mg m−2·h−1, respectively. The GWP of Chinese natural wetlands was estimated as 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1, and CH 4 contributed the largest warming effect, accounting for 57.43%. Correlation analysis showed that geographical location, climate factors, and soil conditions collectively regulated GHG emissions from wetlands. The findings provide a new perspective on sustainable wetland management and reducing GHG emissions. [Display omitted] • A 24-year bibliometric analysis of GHG emissions from wetlands was conducted. • The historical evolution and future trends in the field were summarized. • River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes. • GWP of China's wetlands was estimated to be 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1. • CH 4 emissions contribute 57.43% to the GWP value in China's wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synergistic governance of emission reduction between pollutants and CO2 (hereinafter referred to as synergistic governance) reflects China's proactive response to climate change and will become a central task in China's environmental governance over the next decade and beyond. Given this, this paper aims to systematically understand why synergistic governance is possible and what China has achieved in synergistic governance. In order to achieve these aims, this paper constructs a scientific indicator system based on synergistic governance theory and applies the composite system synergy model to assess the level of synergistic governance in China. The results show that China has made great progress in synergistic governance in the past decade, achieving a leaping development from mild non-synergy to moderate synergy. The achievement mainly comes from the efforts of nearly 1/3 of Chinese provinces in advancing synergistic governance, and the improvement direction of synergistic governance in these provinces is consistent with the national level, jumping from mild non-synergy to moderate synergy. However, the level of synergistic governance in some provinces has decreased rather than increased. It is worth noting that the widening gap in the level of synergistic governance within China's regions may become a vital factor that hinders the sustainable promotion of synergistic governance. This paper clarifies the operational logic of synergistic governance and provides a comprehensive evaluation method, which is beneficial to provide some references for other countries that intend to work on synergistic governance. • Theoretical explanation on synergistic governance from resource flow and energy flow. • A composite system synergy model for the synergistic governance is developed. • Spatial-temporal evolution of synergistic governance in Chinese regions is analyzed. • Widening differences will constrain the sustainability of synergistic governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• It maps the CO 2 storage potentials in shale basins in China comprehensively. • Both shale oil and gas basins are quantitatively estimated via different equations. • Basins are classified into three tiers for carbon storage with varied time scales. • The equations for the estimations of CO 2 storage potentials are optimised. • The density variation of CO 2 at different conditions was considered. China is the second largest shale gas and oil producing country possessing large and significant shale basins, and it is also one of the top carbon emitting countries. Therefore, there is significant potential to store CO 2 in shales in China to remove the carbon emission and enhance and gas recovery simultaneously. This research provides a comprehensive prediction of potentials of CO 2 storage in major shale gas/oil basins in China based on most recent publications where density variation of CO 2 at different subsurface conditions is considered and the different stages of development are classified. We optimise the calculation equations for shale gas and oil respectively, and further classified the three tiers (i.e. commercial, potential and possible reservoirs) in the calculation to prioritise the sequestration site selection. A total of around 6194 Gt, CO 2 sequestration in shales, including 172 Gt for commercial, 849 Gt for potential and 5147 Gt for possible storage, equivalent to a total of 620 years' carbon emissions in China is expected. These can be realised in around 20 years, 20–50 years and 50–100 years respectively. For future applications, more concerns should be on the evaluation criteria of sequestration sites in shales, CO 2 fracturing mechanisms and potential leakage, multi-phase seepage and reactions, and environmental monitoring systems. As a comprehensive assessment of potentials of CO 2 storage in shale basins in China, this paper will provide an important guide for future academic studies, industrial operations and government policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating and improving the environmental efficiency of the power system is the key to achieving sustainable development. However, the classic DEA approach is susceptible to producing biased results due to its inability to address spatial dependence across factors. Considering the spatial dependence of inputs and outputs, this paper proposes a dynamic spatial network DEA model with slacks-based measure (SNSBM) to examine the environmental efficiency of China's power systems, with a focus on the undesirable outputs of CO 2 , NO x , and SO 2. The investigation incorporates the Moran's I test to account for the spatial interactions of patent counts, coal consumption, CO 2 emissions, and renewable power generation. Compared to the classic network DEA, the SNSBM results reveal distinct spatial characteristics and a heightened level of differentiation, which highlights the importance of eliminating spatial dependence. From a dynamic perspective, environmental efficiency shows a visible surge in transmission and distribution divisions after 2015, confirming the success of China's market-oriented reform. In addition, CO 2 is the largest contributor to the environmental inefficiency of the power systems, followed by NO x and SO 2. This study highlights the importance of spatial dependence and provides many insightful policy recommendations for improving the environmental efficiency of China's power systems. • A dynamic spatial network DEA model with slack measures is proposed. • A spatial weight matrix is used to introduce the spatial inputs and outputs into the spatial DEA. • Environmental efficiency of China's power systems is studied with SNSBM model. • Environmental efficiency seems to be overestimated if ignoring the factor's spatial dependence. • CO 2 contributes most to the inefficiency of China's power system compared to SO 2 and NO x. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has set an ambitious national determined contributions target to peak CO 2 emissions by 2030 and aims to be carbon neutral by 2060. One of China's top energy consumers and CO 2 contributors, the steel industry accounts for 13% of the country's total consumption and 15% of CO 2 emissions. In response to the present global warming trend, there is an urgent need to cut energy consumption and CO 2 emissions to promote low-carbon growth. This paper attempts to provide a detailed analysis of the steel industry's CO 2 emission reduction path to carbon neutrality. Further efforts in terms of industrial structure, material efficiency, energy efficiency, and low- or zero-carbon technologies are required to achieve a low-carbon transition. Given that decarbonization is a significant priority in the steel industry in many countries, this study focuses on the goals and technological paths of low-carbon emissions projects to optimize existing technology priorities and propose development directions. Deep decarbonization is also projected to be achieved by combining CCUS and hydrogen metallurgy technologies. The steel industry requires collaborative efforts to standardize CO 2 emission accounting methodologies and establish a carbon trading system to strengthen carbon emission management. • The steel industry is one of the key contributors to carbon neutrality which needs to accelerate decarbonization. • Reducing energy consumption and CO 2 emissions to keep up with the current global warming trend are reviewed. • This paper selects low-carbon emission projects to optimize current technology priorities and provide development directions. • Policy recommendations and next steps for low-carbon transition are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fair regional CO 2 allocation scheme is an important guarantee to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Most existing studies on CO 2 allocation focus on carbon sources while ignore the role of carbon sinks. By combining the carbon sinks estimated by remote sensing technology with the carbon sources identified from multiple dimensions, this paper first analyzes the characteristics of China's net CO 2 emissions in 2015. Then a centralized DEA model is developed to construct a net CO 2 allocation scheme in 2020 and 2030 using historical data in 2015 with the help of the Python programming. On this basis, the allocation schemes considering carbon sinks or not are further compared to verify the rationality of the proposed allocation results. It concludes that a net CO 2 allocation scheme considering carbon sinks delivers significantly better results as it eases the dispersion of inter-provincial carbon quota and balances the development among regions. Geographically, Southwest China, rich in carbon sinks but less developed, will be given more quotas if carbon sinks are included than if they are not, while North China, poor in carbon sinks but more developed, will assume more responsibility for reducing emissions. Our paper sheds light on the importance of incorporating carbon sinks into the CO 2 allocation issue. • A fairness-oriented regional CO 2 allocation scheme considering carbon sinks is proposed. • A new centralized DEA model is developed to balance the allocation over the past and in the future. • The inclusion of carbon sinks breaks and restructures the layout of China's CO 2 allocation. • The allocation scheme is beneficial to Southwest China while unfavorable to North China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The decoupling status of China's manufacturing industry as a whole and its sub-sectors is recognized. • An improved PDA-IDA method is proposed to study the factors influencing the decoupling status. • Further decomposition of the energy intensity effect is conducted using the improved method. • The impacts of production technology related factors and potential factors are quantified. Manufacturing industry occupies an important position in China's national economy, and its decoupling from carbon dioxide emissions largely determines the realization of China's transition to a green economy. This paper uses the Tapio decoupling indicator to explore the decoupling status between manufacturing value added and carbon dioxide emissions in China from 1995 to 2015. Then, the improved production-theoretical decomposition analysis-index decomposition analysis (PDA-IDA) method is proposed to analyze the factors influencing changes in decoupling status, with the technology heterogeneity of manufacturing sub-sectors considered. The results show that China's manufacturing industry experiences a decoupling development trend from 1995 to 2015. The potential energy intensity is the dominant factor in promoting the decoupling development of manufacturing industry, while the output scale effect is the main inhibitory factor. In addition, industrial restructuring and adjustment in carbon density are far from achieving the expected emission reduction effects, while the effects of technological progress and technical efficiency on the decoupling are relatively small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emissions from the electricity industry (CEEI) account for more than 40% of China's total emissions. This paper examines the influential factors of China's CEEI at both national and provincial level and explores targeted provincial strategies, which are critical for China to control its CEEI effectively and to achieve its carbon peaking aim. First, this study quantifies the contributions of nine factors influencing China's CEEI increase using Logistic Mean Divided Index (LMDI) decomposition. The results show that economic growth is the dominant driver, while power consumption intensity, energy intensity of thermal power generation (TPG) and power mix are the main inhibitors. After stepping into the new era in 2012, in general, the evolutions of all the 4 main factors aided CEEI control. Second, according to the recent status of the main factors, we classify 30 provinces into 4 groups with K-means clustering. And then, based on the characteristics of each group, the paper puts forward provincial targeted recommendations to address the rebound of CEEI since 2017 and to promote the low-carbon transformation of China's electricity industry. This study confirms that it is a promising direction for LMDI model to combine with cluster analysis and proposes a basic flow for this combination: LMDI → main influencing factors → clustering variables → cluster analysis → targeted strategies, which will conduce to deepen LMDI applications. [Display omitted] • Confirms it is a promising direction for LMDI to combine with cluster analysis and provides a flow. • Influencing factors' values as clustering variables aid more in targeted strategies. • Entering the new era, the evolutions of four main factors' roles aided CO 2 peaking. • Proposes targeted policies to address the rebound of CEEI in Stage 2–2. • Covers all energy types of thermal power generation including heat in carbon accounting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese Government just released its Energy Revolution Strategy (2016–2030) as an official policy response to President Xi Jinping’s urge. Withdraw of the US from Paris Climate Agreement has turned the global focus on if China can comply with its climate change commitments. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comprehensive assessment on this utterly important question. We find that the 2030 Strategy is consistent with the GDP CO 2 intensity target but cannot deliver CO 2 peak earlier than 2030. We also explore the possibility for China to realize leapfrog in energy efficiency and contribute more to global society in CO 2 emissions abatement. Given China’s economic restructuring potential, continuous efforts in energy efficiency could lead to much lower primary energy demand than the Strategy proposed and thus peak energy-related CO 2 emissions around 2020. It can also make China a new champion in the world with highest energy efficiency level at comparable income level during the economic development process. A much lower primary energy demand can also facilitate China’s non-fossil primary energy share target and the low-carbon power system transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper analyzes China's challenges toward carbon neutrality (CN) by 2060. • Currently, up to 85% of China's energy consumption relies on fossil fuels. • China's zero-carbon technologies and economy are not yet sufficient for CN. • Thus, we propose a three-stage/four-step strategy for China to achieve CN. • This paper also presents seven suggestions to foster China's green transition. In response to climate change, the Chinese government has set a clear goal to reach its carbon peak by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, endeavoring to gradually realize net-zero carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions. This paper explores the concept of carbon neutrality and makes a comparative analysis of the gap between China, the European Union, and the United States vis-à-vis carbon neutrality based on international data. The main challenges China faces in its progress toward carbon neutrality are the following: first, China's energy consumption and CO 2 emissions continue to increase, while its carbon peak has not yet been reached; second, carbon emission reduction in China is an arduous process, as the transition period allowed for the country to transition from its carbon peak to carbon neutrality is shorter than that of developed countries; third, China remains reliant on high-carbon fossil energy, with high energy consumption and low energy utilization efficiency; fourth, China's low level of economic development, compared with those of the EU, the US, or other developed countries, makes it relatively weak to withstand economic risks; and fifth, China's low-carbon and zero-carbon technologies are not mature. Therefore, this paper posits a three-stage/four-step strategy as well as seven specific suggestions that could benefit China's progress toward carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper discusses the current status of CCS in China, providing an update of current projects and past activities in research and development, and a brief overview of prospects for CCS deployment in China. CCS related research in China has been building from a focus on research and development and exploration of the technical considerations o f CCS potential in China in coordination with international partners. While large scale demonstration of integrated CCS projects is still at an early stage, there is significant knowledge and technical expertise that can be derived from ongoing pilot projects. These projects employ various mature technologies that may be integrated and scaled to facilitate demonstration and deployment of CCS in the future. In addition, China is increasingly exploring opportunities in CO2 utilization to drive and support deployment of CCS–this is also known as CO2 capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). This paper provides information on some of these key activities, including details of specific projects and a background of the regulatory and policy frameworks and international cooperation on CCS and CCUS in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study examines the dynamic relationships among output, carbon emission, and population of China during the period of 1960 to 2009 by using auto regressive distributive lag (ARDL) model. In order to make the co-integration analysis robust, the paper applied Toda and Yamamoto causality test to understand the causal links among output, carbon emission, and population. The empirical results suggest that population significantly affect output whereas carbon emission does not affect output in the long run. The error correction model (ECM) version of ARDL model found deviations from long run equilibrium which is due to dynamics in the variables concerned. Toda and Yamamoto causality test revealed bi-directional causality between population and carbon emission and also between population and output. Empirical results signify that population can be considered as a powerful ingredient in the context of increase in carbon emission which is instrumental to environmental conservation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Geological storage potential of CO 2 emissions for China's coal-fired power plants is estimated. • Daqing, Ordos and Bayin'gholin Mongol have the largest CO 2 storage capacity of enhanced water/oil/gas recovery respectively. • The mismatch of coal-fired power plants and CO 2 storage sites restrict the emission reduction potential of cities in China. • Ordos has the largest CO 2 emission reduction potential through CO 2 geological storage projects of coal-fired power plants. To mitigate global warming to temperatures no higher than 2 °C or even less than 1.5 °C, carbon capture and storage (CCS) is indispensable. This is especially true for China, which relies heavily on coal-fired power plants. In China, CCS could play an important role in removing CO 2 emissions from coal-fired power plants and establishing low-carbon cities. Clarifying the emissions reduction potential of cities using CO 2 geological storage will help to identify site suitable for carrying out CCS projects in a technically and economically feasible way. In this paper, we assessed CO 2 storage capacity in three geological structures between 800 to 3000 m underground: (1) the nationwide on-shore CO 2 storage capacity of 705 oil fields in terms of both depleted oil reservoirs (DOR) and enhanced oil recovery (EOR); (2) 754 gas fields in terms of both depleted gas reservoirs (DGR) and enhanced gas recovery (EGR); (3) China's deep saline aquifers (DSA), including 17 large basins ; and (4) the CO 2 emissions of coal-fired plants of 300 MW and over. After completing all of these assessments, this paper presents an emissions reduction potential estimate. The results show that: 1) the total CO 2 storage capacity of DOR, EOR, DGR, EGR and DSA is 21,287 Mt, 5191 Mt, 15,321 Mt, 9018 Mt and 1,004,319 Mt, respectively; 2) 76 cities can sequester their existing CO 2 emissions from coal-fired power plants in situ within their administrative boundaries for over 10 years, and their contribution is 634.43 Mt per year. 3) Ordos City has priority to carry out CO 2 geological storage for coal-fired power plants due to the volume of its annual captured CO 2 (52.13 Mt), and it can operate for about 123 years if its CO 2 emissions remain unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest coal consumer and leading CO 2 emitter, China faces huge pressure on emission reduction and addressing climate change. Moreover, the feature of coal dominated energy constitute system determines that Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology would be of vital importance for China, especially the CO 2 utilization technology due to its benefit creating effect. While CO 2 utilization technology in current China is still in juvenility and needs to be predictively evaluated. Thus, this paper aims to assess the potential efficiency of CO 2 utilization technologies in China. First, two sets of index systems of efficiency evaluation are established, and each of which contains three input indicators and three output indicators. We then conduct the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) efficiency evaluation on 20 key CO 2 utilization technologies, which are classified into three categories, i.e. chemical, biological and geological utilizations, using so-called CCR, BCC and SE-CCR DEA models respectively. The results show that: (1) CO 2 utilization technologies receive different DEA scores, while that with score 1 or more are dominated by chemical utilization; (2) CO 2 geological utilization exhibits relatively higher sore under the direct-emission-reduction scenario than it does under comprehensive-emission-reduction scenario; (3) there are significant differences among the four types of biological utilization technologies; (4) DEA efficiency performance of CO 2 utilization technologies gain improvement in 2030 than that in 2020, which in part provide evidence for the rationality of our study; and (5) DEA score rank has no correlation with emission reduction. Finally, some policy implications are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper discussed the interactive forms of environmental regulation. • The two-regime spatial Durbin model was used in this paper. • The effects of environmental regulation on CO 2 emissions is explored. In order to reduce carbon emissions and improve environmental governance, the paper discusses the interactive forms of environmental regulation based on the two-regime spatial Durbin model. The effects of environmental regulation and interactive behavior of environmental regulation on carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions are explored by using the spatial lag of X (SLX) model. It is found that there is a diversified competitive behavior in the enforcement of environmental regulation among local governments in China. And the diversified competitive behavior results in the nearby transfer of pollution, which increases local CO 2 emissions. In addition, there is an inverted "U" curve between environmental regulation and CO 2 emissions, and China is still in the "green paradox" stage. Furthermore, it is found that the environmental regulation mainly affects CO 2 emissions through industrial structure and technological progress. Also, there are differences in the spatial spillover effect of environmental regulation due to the existence of regional heterogeneity, and its impact on CO 2 is particularly significant in the western region. The findings indicate that the central government should strengthen targeted supervision and adaptive incentives for local governments to implement environmental regulation so that joint emission reduction can be promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is universally recognized that direct carbon emissions based on energy consumption and industrial production lead to carbon leakage and inequality. This paper employs input–output analysis (IOA) and the hypothetical extraction method (HEM) to establish an embodied carbon analysis framework to resolve the above externalities. As a typical downstream consumption industry, the service sector has had very little work examining its embodied carbon transfer structure and related climate policies. In this paper, carbon flows of China's service sector between 1997 and 2015 are mapped and a scenario analysis is conducted that accounts for the service sector development plan and carbon emissions reduction targets. The results demonstrate that 13–19% of carbon flows in the Chinese economy are caused by the service sector's demand of other sectors. Controlling the industry scale and carbon intensity of its upstream industries effectively mitigates the dramatic growth of embodied carbon emissions in the service sector. The embodied carbon emissions accounting framework might provide new insights for the definition of emissions reduction responsibility on both a regional and sectoral scale. The further exploration of the service industry from this novel perspective will be helpful in realizing China's overall carbon emissions reduction goals. • A visualised dynamic embodied carbon dioxide database for China is constructed. • Service sector has huge reduction potential as second-largest embodied CO 2 importer. • Primary embodied carbon input sectors of the service sector are identified. • The accounting framework can be applied on both a regional and sectoral scale. • Controlling the industry scale and carbon intensity of upstream industries is valid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given China's economic dependence on coal for energy and industry, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology is a critical decarbonization strategy. Carbon dioxide (CO 2) enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is critical to success of CCUS in China, providing the industrial know-how for long-term carbon storage. Carbon dioxide flooding in both China and the United States began in the 1960s. While the United States produces about 300,000 barrels of EOR oil per day, China's EOR efforts still face significant hurdles. This paper presents a compilation and brief review of CO 2 -EOR data, some of it previously unpublished, from the three major Chinese oil companies (China National Petroleum Corporation, Sinopec, and Yanchang Petroleum Company) and one private company (Dunhua) that presently maintain pilot CO 2 -EOR floods. The authors have visited several of the projects discussed in the paper and some observations from these visits are included. China's EOR projects generally produce from deep, tight, largely continental clastic reservoirs requiring hydraulic fracturing to create flow paths. There are no separation and recycle facilities—necessary to contain CO 2 in the system-- and there are presently no supercritical pipelines for CO 2 supply. Several CO 2 -EOR projects have established monitoring and storage pilot projects but the absence of recycle means determination of net storage is not possible. China's projects could benefit from improved reservoir selection, new CO 2 monitoring tools and operating strategies, expanded front-end investments in CO 2 infrastructure such as pipelines and modern surface separation and recycling facilities that will serve to reutilize and store CO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper provides a basis for capacity management and operation management of shared bikes from the perspective of environment. • Based on whole life cycle accounting method, carbon emissions of each stage of production, use, and disposal are calculated. • In the disposal process, the possibility of reducing carbon emissions by different bikes disposal methods is discussed in detail. • In China, carbon emissions generated from solid waste disposal by landfilling are significantly higher than those from incineration power. Recent global environmental initiatives designed to achieve a more sustainable society include the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. While the shared economic model has long been linked to the creation of the sustainable use of resources, one problem encountered by the bike sharing is whether the current management model can maintain the focus on sustainability in China. Based on the amount of resources consumed during bike production, operation, and recycling, this paper aims to use life cycle carbon emission assessment to calculate an emission reduction threshold for bike-sharing industry. The research obtained energy consumption data from the OFO Curve bike, which is the most commonly used type of bike sharing in China. Calculating the average distance traveled and number of times each bike was used per day via the Baidu Map Application Program Interface, we found that the average number of times each bike was used per day was 4.552, and the average riding distance was 0.356 km. Additionally, the overall utilization of shared bikes averages about 50%. Further results show that the whole life cycle carbon footprint of one bike is 34.56 kg CO 2. The power generation by incineration produces 1.9916 kg CO 2 in less than a landfill. If a bike is deposited directly in a landfill, it will take 31 years to degrade. The final calculations show that based on the current number of bikes, each used at least 686 days to achieve a net positive reduction in emissions. This paper provides a basis for capacity management and operation management of shared bikes from the perspective of pro-environment and provides a new angle for the research on environmental impact of sharing economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CCUS retrofitting China's power plants potentially reduce 5.5–38.5 gt CO 2 by 2060. • The impact of CCUS deployment time and transport distance is quantified. • Great opportunities for CCUS clusters in five major basins are suggested. • Priority provinces with low-cost opportunities for CO 2 transportation are identified. China's carbon neutrality target before 2060 requires a significant CO 2 emissions reduction for the power industry. The application of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technology in coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) can significantly reduce the CO 2 emissions while avoiding stranded assets loss; however, its contribution to carbon neutrality remains unclear. Based on a CCUS source-sink matching analysis, this paper investigates the role of CO 2 emissions reduction of existing CFPPs in realizing China's carbon neutrality. This research yielded several important findings. (1) During 2020–2060, China's existing 584 CFPPs (670 GW) will totally lock in associated CO 2 emissions of 60.87 Gt CO 2 , and have the CCUS retrofitting potential of 136–560 GW, contributing to the cumulative CO 2 emissions reduction of 5.46–38.48 Gt depending on different deployment time (2025, 2030, and 2035) and maximum transport distance (100 km, 250 km, and 800 km); (2) The best window for retrofitting China's existing CFPPs is quite short and will soon be closed, because the cumulative mitigation potential will drop by 3.76–17.14 Gt (over 40%) if the deployment time is delayed by 10 years from 2025; (3) The geographical consistency of matched CFPPs and storage sites provides great opportunities for the development of CCUS clusters in Bohai Bay Basin, South Huabei Basin, Subei Basin, Songliao Basin, and Junggar Basin; (4) Jiangsu, Henan, Anhui, Hebei, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, and Tianjin are identified as the highest priority for large-scale CCUS deployment considering that they have low-cost opportunities for CO 2 transportation; (5) CFPPs in Heilongjiang, Shanxi and Jilin are more sensitive to the injection rate capacity of nearby storage sites; (6) 300 km are highly suggested to be the upper limit of transport distance especially for those CFPPs targeting deep saline aquifers (DSA) sites. This study provides low-cost CCUS opportunities for provinces and even power plants, as well as support government policymaking, especially in the appropriate length of onshore pipelines and the locations of CCUS hubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing building constructions have become one of the fastest-growing drivers of carbon emissions. Energy conservation and carbon reduction in buildings have become increasingly crucial in the context of global carbon neutrality. This paper assesses the annual total energy and carbon embodied in the ten most intensively used building materials in China, aiming to find potential CO 2 reduction opportunities in the construction industry from a macroscopic perspective. The results show that: (1) the embodied energy and carbon of cement, steel, and brick account for more than 70% of the total embodied energy and carbon of all building materials; (2) differences in the embodied energy and carbon between steel-concrete buildings and brick-concrete buildings are not distinct; (3) disparities in the embodied energy and carbon of building materials between different regions are significant. The eastern and south-eastern regions consume excessive building materials and embody significantly higher energy and carbon than other regions. Several strategies are provided for China's building sector in energy and carbon reduction. • We analyse the annual total energy and carbon emissions embodied in building materials in China. • Embodied energy and carbon between steel-concrete buildings and brick-concrete buildings are analysed. • We find significant disparities in embodied energy and carbon among different regions. • Potential opportunities to reduce carbon emissions are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using the directional distance function estimating by a non-parametric method, this paper measured shadow prices indicating the margin abatement costs (MACs) of CO2 emissions of China''s industrial sectors. The results show that the MACs are within 0.2 thousand Yuan per ton to 120.3 thousand Yuan per ton, differentiating among sectors. In average, the MACs of heavy and chemical industries are lower than that of light and high-tech industries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper calculated the agricultural CO2 emissions of Sichuan province from 1997 to 2008, then did the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis test, and finally decomposed the total effect of CO2 emissions to production effect, structure effect and intensity effect using LMDI method. The results show: the relationship between Sichuan agricultural CO2 emissions and its economic growth is a rising straight line from 1997 to 2008, and the increasing of the total CO2 emissions is mainly caused by the intensity effect. Structure effect has a positive effect to CO2 emissions reduction, and production effect has small negative effect on CO2 emissions first and gradually increases to a positive effect from 2004. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Low-carbon economy is an effective solution to the sharp conflict between rapid economic growth and high CO2 emission. Low-carbon tourism is a radical approach to implement sustainable development under the background of low-carbon economy. This paper analyzes the fundamental conception of low-carbon tourism and reviewed the main research on low-carbon tourism within and outside China. Some countermeasures for the sustainable development of tourism industry are discussed in view of the benefits of tourist administration, tourism enterprises, tourism attractions and tourists in order to achieve higher quality of tourism experience and greater economic, social and environmental benefits with energy saving and emission reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China''s CO2 emission increase has attracted world''s attention. This paper analyzed dominant factors that affect changes in China''s CO2 emission from 1980 to 2007, which indicates that economic scale and energy saving are two major factors attributable to increase and decrease of CO2 emission, while energy conversion and population scale are less dominant factors. In the future, energy efficiency factor will still take the dominant position while energy conversion will play an increasingly important role, and economic growth rate and industrial structure transformation will become important restrictive factors while population reduction effect size will remain the least changeable factor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Emission inventories are important tools for monitoring air quality and assisting the policies in urban areas. This paper estimates Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, and Chongqing''s CO2 emissions of energy consumption and carbon intensity of the economic activities in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2004-2007 based on the method recommended by IPCC. The results show that the coal combustion is the leading cause of total CO2 emission from energy consumption, occupied over 60% of total CO2 emission of fuels. But the share of CO2 emission from coal is descending gradually because of energy consumption restructuring. In addition, the four mega-cities’ carbon intensity of the economic activities, which is the low Carbon Economy index, is improving persistently. These results imply that China''s CO2 emission in the future may not become as high as expected but improve with time. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The estimates of abatement costs about CO2 can provide useful information for policy-makers. With the framework of production theory, a marginal abatement costs model is established using the nonparametric method, and empirical results about China in 2007 are found in this paper. The two CO2 reduction strategies, maintaining the level of CO2 or reducing CO2 and expanding GDP at the same time, impact potential GDP greatly. 143.5 millions CO2 reduction means 35.1billions GDP loss and the marginal abatement cost of CO2 is 475.3yuan/ton on average. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In traditional industrialization, manufacturing industries are clustering with a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions which has been polluting the environment heavily and directly caused global climate change. Industry CO2 emissions reduction is the key point for global climate change mitigation. The authors in this paper introduce a new concept of industry CO2 emissions efficiency and relatively design an industry CO2 emissions coefficient to measure it. With a sample analysis of Chongqing China, the authors find that 11 of 18 sectors of Chongqing industry have their great potentials of industry CO2 emissions reduction comparing to those of China''s national level in sample year of 2007. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy consumption of rural residents involves many aspects such as energy security, environmental effect, the new rural construction and so on. Based on the analysis of the present situation of renewable energy consumption by rural residents in daily life, this paper estimates the carbon emissions of renewable energy consumption by rural residents in daily life from 1998-2007, and evaluates the environmental effect of the renewable energy consumption in daily life in rural areas. The conclusion shows: in the course of energy consumption by rural residents in daily life, the main body of carbon emissions is caused by the traditional usage of straws, firewood and the other biomass energy in China, and gives relevant policy suggestion accordingly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Release of CO2 has caused significant climate change, and agricultural land use consitutes an important carbon source as well as principal carbon sinks. This paper, by examining carbon functions of main agricultural land in China, shows that in 2000-2008 the annual growth rate of carbon emission for arable land amounted to 2.47 percent, the average annual growth of carbon sinks for forest reached 3.19 percent, and the diminishing rate of carbon sink for grassland turned to be small but quite distinct. For arable land, higher carbon emissions are mainly located in its central provinces and major agricultural provinces, while higher carbon intensity in its eastern coastal provinces. Agricultural land of 9 provinces in China was found with net carbon emissions, primarily in the agricultural provinces and ecologically fragile urban areas, whereas the other 22 provinces with net carbon sinks. The EKC tests between carbon intensity of agricultural land and agricultural output per capita illustrate a significant inverted Ucurve relationship; as for agricultural output per capita, the inflection point of 9,615 RMB yuan was surpassed by 11 provinces, mainly in eastern China, developed cities and the northeast region. Finally, policy recommendations are proposed to reduce carbon emissions of agricultural land use across China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Rapidly developing economy in China makes great improvement in human life quality. At the mean while, it brings great pressures on environment which has drawn broadly attentions all over the world. The ‘problems of consumption’ comes both from consumers and producers. Hybrid life cycle analysis method and structural decomposition analysis model were used in this paper to explore the interaction of consumption and production and how technology development and household consumption contributed to CO2 emissions in the period of 1992–2002. The achievements of technology development in the last two decades reduced the emission intensity and technical coefficients which lowered the CO2 emissions. But the household consumption has offset this technological contribution and resulted in the growth of CO2 emission. Interaction analysis results showed that consumer''s demand for energy-intensive product was an important driving force of pollution production. Household consumption in China contributed a lot to the expansion of manufacturing activities in the last two decades. We concluded that sustainable development could not be achieved if policy makers continuously emphasize the control of polluting industries. The government should simultaneously emphasize technological development and consumer policies to curb these emissions and induce more environmental conscious production and consumption patterns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China’s economy has been on a solid fast growth track since 1978. The economy expanded by an average annual rate of about 10% during the last thirty years. That is more than triple the average growth rate of the world economy during the same period. The rapid economic development has been associated with growing energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Although the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol exempts China from reducing its own CO2 output, China, as the first or second largest CO2 emission country, is facing growing international political pressure. As a responsible big country, China will almost certainly have to respond to climate change in the future. China is entering unexpected fast development period of the industrialization, urbanization and motorization, in which large-scale new infrastructures will be built. This provides great opportunity to plan for longer-term CO2 mitigation—the infrastructures built today have a long life time and are not easy to upgrade the technologies involved, and decisions made now will have a major impact on energy utilization mode and CO2 mitigation technology option in coming years. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), as an option in the portfolio of mitigation actions to combat climate change, is expected to have far-reaching implications for China. This paper (1) explores the strategic significance of CCS for China by making an extreme scenario analysis of Chinese power sector in 2030; (2) provides an overview of the recent CCS activities in China; and (3) identifies the major challenges with respect to CCS development in China and put forwards immediate strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon dioxide capture and geological storage (CCS) is regarded as an effective option to reduce CO2 emissions from the use of fossil fuels. CCS is particularly important to China due to its large and rapidly rising emissions and high dependence on fossil fuel, and large remaining coal reserves. This paper presents the key results of the authors’ study to evaluate o pportunities for the deployment of CCS technologies within China. It focuses on the data, methodology, and results of basin-scale CO2 sto rage capacity and CO2 point emission estimation in China. There is a total estimated theoretical CO2 geological storage capacity of 3088 gigat ons in China’s onshore and offshore basins, including a storage capacity of 3066 gigatons for deep saline formations accounting for 99% of total geological storage resource. China also has an annual emission about 3.9 billion tons of CO2 from large point sources in 2007. In view of initial site-source matching analysis, He huai Basin, Bohai Bay Basin, Subei Basin and Sichuan Basin have the best potential for CCS deployment. There is significant potential for CCS technologies to deliver deep, sustained and cost-effective emissions reductions for China over the course of this century [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• NRAP-IAM-CS was used to assess the system-level leakage risk for the Shenhua CO2 storage site, China. • Total CO2 and brine leakages from the 3 wells on site are trivial in most scenarios tested, except for the scenario assuming significantly leaking wells. • For the significantly leaking scenario, there is a 10% probability to have a moderate leakage-affected volume in the shallow aquifer with the pH below 6.5, and a large volume with the TDS above 500 ppm. Therefore, pH and TDS may be considered for site monitoring plans. • Simulation results show a very low probability to observe significant CO2 and brine leakages at the Shenhua site. This paper describes a system-level risk assessment for the Shenhua CO 2 storage site, China, using the National Risk Assessment Partnership Integrated Assessment Model for Carbon Storage (NRAP-IAM-CS). We begin by determining the optimal number of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to achieve CO 2 and brine leakage result convergence. Then, we calculate mass CO 2 and brine leakage to the atmosphere and a hypothetical shallow aquifer. Finally, we assess the geochemical impacts in the event of leakage as if there were a shallow freshwater aquifer at the Shenhua site. Simulation results show that leakage results tend to stabilize after 300 Monte Carlo simulations. When the three wells on site are assigned a permeability of 10−11 m2 (representing significantly leaking wells), moderate CO 2 and brine leakages occur, and the percentage of CO 2 leakage exceeds the threshold value we set based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This is, however, unlikely to be the case for the Shenhua site. For all the other scenarios, the CO 2 leakage is trivial although there is still the possibility of CO 2 leakage into the groundwater aquifer exceeding the 1% threshold over 1000 years, assuming constant legacy wellbore permeability. For the significantly leaking scenario, there is a 10% probability to have a moderate (2.7 × 107 m3) leakage-affected volume in the shallow aquifer with the pH below 6.5, and a large (1.4 × 108 m3) volume with the total dissolved solids (TDS) above 500 ppm, hence pH and TDS may be considered for site monitoring plans. Based on the simulation results, there is a very low probability of significant CO 2 /brine leakage through the existing wells at the Shenhua CO 2 storage site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major strength of the voluntary building environmental assessment method is to encourage good environmental practice beyond the current industry practice. For a successful voluntary scheme, the credit scale must be attractive to investors and performance-based criteria should be used. However, most of the current schemes use a combination of prescriptive and performance-based criteria, and credits are allocated using subjective judgement, irrespective of cost and practical implications of attaining improved performances. This is pointed to the need to establish an incentive-crediting scheme, which is oriented towards performance-based scales having credits linked to cost and performance. In formulating the incentive-crediting scheme, the cost effectiveness of different energy-saving level in a base building is investigated under the premise that the investors would pursue a strategy in the most cost-effective manner. This paper presents a conceptual framework for policy makers to formulate an incentive-crediting scale for accrediting criteria within the greenhouse gas objectives of a building environmental assessment scheme in Hong Kong, aiming to attract participation of the profit-maximising investors. Establishment of an incentive-crediting scale starts from developing a carbon dioxide abatement curve for greenhouse gas emission. This is subsequently followed by dividing the maximum energy-saving potential into ten equal energy reduction intervals. The incentive-crediting scheme is formulated on a basis that proportionally more credits would be rewarded for diminishing investment return of consecutive reduction levels in a base building. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• This study explored the influence of transport structure change on CO 2 emissions from China's WTS. • The potential for emission reduction from structure change were simulated. • Explicit policy recommendations were proposed for low-carbon development of China's WTS. The booming of waterway transport urged the efficient management of CO 2 emissions from China's waterway transport sector (WTS). The transport structure changes due to the introduction of more inland and coastal waterway transport since the 12th Five Year Period pose new challenges for the carbon-reduction management of China's WTS. This paper investigates the effect of transport structure change on CO 2 emissions from the China's WTS by an index decomposition model, which incorporates the transport structure change factor and three other important factors related to transport production. An empirical study conducted on 17 major waterway transport regions in China from 2010 to 2016 shows that the waterway transport structure change performed as a negative driver for reducing CO 2 emissions. However, a scenario analysis confirmed that effective transport structure changes would facilitate reductions in CO 2 emissions from the WTS. Industrial development was the greatest driver for CO 2 emission increase, while energy intensity change was an important driver for mitigating CO 2 emissions. Regional disparities on the effect of waterway transport structure change and industrial development indicated the necessity of collaboration among 17 provincial regions on waterway transport management to mitigate CO 2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CO 2 transport and storage costs vary regionally. • Key variabilities are distance, scale, monitoring, geology, and pipeline costs. • We find CO 2 transport and storage costs range from $4 to 45/tCO 2. • CCS deployment is more sensitive to transport and storage costs in some regions. • More analysis is needed to quantify transport and storage costs at regional level. This paper assesses the range of CO 2 transport and storage costs and evaluates their impact on economy-wide modeling results of decarbonization pathways. Much analytic work has been dedicated to evaluating the cost and performance of various CO 2 capture technologies, but less attention has been paid to evaluating the cost of CO 2 transport and storage. Many integrated assessment modeling studies assume a combined cost for CO 2 transport and storage that is uniform in all regions, commonly estimated at $10/tCO 2. Realistically, the cost of CO 2 transport and storage is not fixed at $10/tCO 2 and varies across geographic, geologic, and institutional settings. We surveyed the literature to identify key sources of variability in transport and storage costs and developed a method to quantify and incorporate these elements into a cost range. We find that onshore pipeline transport and storage costs vary from $4 to 45/tCO 2 depending on key sources of variability including transport distance, scale (i.e. quantity of CO 2 transported and stored), monitoring assumptions, reservoir geology, and transport cost variability such as pipeline capital costs. Using the MIT Economic Projection and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, we examined the impact of variability in transport and storage costs by applying a range of uniform costs in all regions in a future where global temperature rise is limited to 2°C. We then developed three modeling cases where transport and storage costs vary regionally. In these latter cases, global cumulative CO 2 captured and stored through 2100 ranges from 290 to 377 Gt CO 2 , compared to 425 Gt CO 2 when costs are assumed to be uniformly $10/t CO 2 in all regions. We conclude that the widely used assumption of $10/tCO 2 for the transport and storage of CO 2 is reasonable in some regions, but not in others. Moreover, CCS deployment is more sensitive to transport and storage costs in some regions than others, particularly China. More analysis is needed to further quantify CO 2 transport and storage costs at a regional level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]