1. China's CH4 and CO2 emissions: Bottom-up estimation and comparative analysis.
- Author
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Zhang, Bo and Chen, G.Q.
- Subjects
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METHANE , *CARBON dioxide , *GREENHOUSE gases , *COMPARATIVE studies , *ESTIMATION theory - Abstract
For the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in China, little attention has been given to CH 4 emissions and related emission mitigation. This paper presents a detailed bottom-up estimation and comparison analysis of China's CH 4 and CO 2 emissions for the first time. China's CH 4 emissions are shown with comparable importance to the CO 2 emissions at the national and regional levels. The national total CH 4 emission in 2008 amounts to 39 Tg, equivalent to about 1/8, 1/3 and 3/5 of the total CO 2 emission by the 100-year global warming potential (GWP) factor, the 20-year GWP factor and the global thermodynamic potential factor, respectively. Increasing CH 4 emissions could compromise China's efforts to mitigate its GHG emissions. In contrast to energy-dominated emission pattern for CO 2 , the major sources of China's CH 4 emissions are coal mining, enteric fermentation, rice cultivation and waste management. Meanwhile, there exists a large gap between the eastern coastal regions and the western and central inland regions in the emission magnitude and emission intensity for CH 4 and CO 2 , with different mitigation flexibilities. Reducing CH 4 emissions should be integrated into the national and regional policies for GHG emission mitigation. In some central and western regions such as Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Qinghai and Tibet, the inclusion of CH 4 emission intensity reduction can be more cost-effective than only setting a target for CO 2 emission intensity to reduce the regional GHG emission intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2014
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