•This study quantitatively estimated the environmental benefits of bike sharing.•Big data techniques were applied to analyse the impacts from a spatiotemporal perspective.•Bike sharing in Shanghai ...saved 8,358 tonnes of petrol and decreased CO2 emissions by 25,240 tonnes in 2016.
Bike sharing is a new form of transport and is becoming increasingly popular in cities around the world. This study aims to quantitatively estimate the environmental benefits of bike sharing. Using big data techniques, we estimate the impacts of bike sharing on energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions in Shanghai from a spatiotemporal perspective. In 2016, bike sharing in Shanghai saved 8358 tonnes of petrol and decreased CO2 and NOX emissions by 25,240 and 64 tonnes, respectively. From a spatial perspective, environmental benefits are much higher in more developed districts in Shanghai where population density is usually higher. From a temporal perspective, there are obvious morning and evening peaks of the environmental benefits of bike sharing, and evening peaks are higher than morning peaks. Bike sharing has great potential to reduce energy consumption and emissions based on its rapid development.
A simultaneous improvement in both ecological and economic efficiency is necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The new sharing economy has potential to promote the needed ...shifts in collective consumption behaviour, but better governance models are urgently required.Sharing activities are under wide debate regarding the environmental impacts. Here the authors reviewed their benefits and problems and suggested that a simultaneous improvement of both ecological and economic efficiency is necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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China has announced its goal of reaching carbon neutrality before 2060, which will be challenging because the country is still on a path towards peak carbon emissions in approximately 2030. ...Carbon emissions in China did decline from 2013 to 2016, following a continuous increase since the turn of the century. Here we evaluate regional efforts and motivations in promoting carbon emission reduction during this period. Based on a climate change mitigation index, we pinpoint the leading and lagging provinces in emission reduction. The results show that achievements in industrial transition and non-fossil fuel development determined the leading provinces. Thus, the recommended solution for carbon neutrality in China is to promote the transformation of industrial structure and energy mix. In addition, policymakers should be alert to the path of energy outsourcing to reduce carbon emissions. Consumption-based emissions accounting and interregional cooperation are suggested to motivate developed regions to take more responsibility for climate change mitigation.
Abstract
This study seeks to estimate the carbon implications of recent changes in China’s economic development patterns and role in global trade in the post-financial-crisis era. We utilised the ...latest socioeconomic datasets to compile China’s 2012 multiregional input-output (MRIO) table. Environmentally extended input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis (SDA) were applied to investigate the driving forces behind changes in CO
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emissions embodied in China’s domestic and foreign trade from 2007 to 2012. Here we show that emission flow patterns have changed greatly in both domestic and foreign trade since the financial crisis. Some economically less developed regions, such as Southwest China, have shifted from being a net emission exporter to being a net emission importer. In terms of foreign trade, emissions embodied in China’s exports declined from 2007 to 2012 mainly due to changes in production structure and efficiency gains, while developing countries became the major destination of China’s export emissions.
Mercury (Hg) exposure poses substantial risks to human health. Investigating a longer chain from economic activities to human health can reveal the sources and critical processes of Hg-related health ...risks. Thus, we develop a more comprehensive assessment method which is applied to mainland China-the largest global Hg emitter. We present a map of Hg-related health risks in China and estimate that 0.14 points of per-foetus intelligence quotient (IQ) decrements and 7,360 deaths from fatal heart attacks are related to the intake of methylmercury in 2010. This study, for the first time, reveals the significant impacts of interprovincial trade on Hg-related health risks across the whole country. For instance, interprovincial trade induced by final consumption prevents 0.39 × 10
points for per-foetus IQ decrements and 194 deaths from fatal heart attacks. These findings highlight the importance of policy decisions in different stages of economic supply chains to reduce Hg-related health risks.
•Production-based CO2 emissions are estimated for eleven cities in China in 2012.•Consumption-based CO2 emissions are estimated using input-output theory.•Emissions embodied in imports account for ...over 50% of consumption-based emissions.•Interregional cooperation is critical at the city level for tackling climate change.
Carbon emission inventories are the foundations of climate change mitigation and adaptation in cities. In this study, we estimated production-based CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes in eleven cities in Hebei Province of China in 2012 and used input-output theory to measure their consumption-based CO2 emissions. By comprehensively comparing production- and consumption-based emissions, we found that six developed cities were consumers with import-depended trade patterns, while the five other cities were producers, mostly medium in size, with the potential to transform into consumer cities with socioeconomic development. Emissions embodied in imports accounted for more than half of the consumption-based emissions in most cities, which shows the significance of interregional cooperation in tackling climate change. International cooperation is also important at the city level, as international imports also impact consumption-based emissions. From the perspective of final use, emissions caused by fixed capital formation predominated in most cities and were determined by their economic development models.
•We calculate consumption-based CO2 emissions for thirteen Chinese cities.•Substantial differences exist between production- and consumption-based accounting.•70% of consumption-based emissions are ...imported from other regions in Chinese megacities.•Capital formation is the largest contributor to consumption-based emissions.•Production-based cities tend to become consumption-based as they undergo socioeconomic development.
Most of China’s CO2 emissions are related to energy consumption in its cities. Thus, cities are critical for implementing China’s carbon emissions mitigation policies. In this study, we employ an input-output model to calculate consumption-based CO2 emissions for thirteen Chinese cities and find substantial differences between production- and consumption-based accounting in terms of both overall and per capita carbon emissions. Urban consumption not only leads to carbon emissions within a city’s own boundaries but also induces emissions in other regions via interregional trade. In megacities such as Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, approximately 70% of consumption-based emissions are imported from other regions. Annual per capita consumption-based emissions in the three megacities are 14, 12 and 10 tonnes of CO2 per person, respectively. Some medium-sized cities, such as Shenyang, Dalian and Ningbo, exhibit per capita emissions that resemble those in Tianjin. From the perspective of final use, capital formation is the largest contributor to consumption-based emissions at 32–65%. All thirteen cities are categorized by their trading patterns: five are production-based cities in which production-based emissions exceed consumption-based emissions, whereas eight are consumption-based cities, with the opposite emissions pattern. Moreover, production-based cities tend to become consumption-based as they undergo socioeconomic development.
China is the world's largest energy consumer and CO2 emitter. Cities contribute 85% of the total CO2 emissions in China and thus are considered as the key areas for implementing policies designed for ...climate change adaption and CO2 emission mitigation. However, the emission inventory construction of Chinese cities has not been well researched, mainly owing to the lack of systematic statistics and poor data quality. Focusing on this research gap, we developed a set of methods for constructing CO2 emissions inventories for Chinese cities based on energy balance table. The newly constructed emission inventory is compiled in terms of the definition provided by the IPCC territorial emission accounting approach and covers 47 socioeconomic sectors, 17 fossil fuels and 9 primary industry products, which is corresponding with the national and provincial inventory. In the study, we applied the methods to compile CO2 emissions inventories for 24 common Chinese cities and examined uncertainties of the inventories. Understanding the emissions sources in Chinese cities is the basis for many climate policy and goal research in the future.
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The Chinese economy has been recovering slowly from the global financial crisis, but it cannot achieve the same rapid development of the pre-recession period. Instead, the country has entered a new ...phase of economic development-a 'new normal'. We use a structural decomposition analysis and environmental input-output analysis to estimate the determinants of China's carbon emission changes during 2005-2012. China's imports are linked to a global multi-regional input-output model based on the Global Trade and Analysis Project database to calculate the embodied CO2 emissions in imports. We find that the global financial crisis has affected the drivers of China's carbon emission growth. From 2007 to 2010, the CO2 emissions induced by China's exports dropped, whereas emissions induced by capital formation grew rapidly. In the 'new normal', the strongest factors that offset CO2 emissions have shifted from efficiency gains to structural upgrading. Efficiency was the strongest factor offsetting China's CO2 emissions before 2010 but drove a 1.4% increase in emissions in the period 2010-2012. By contrast, production structure and consumption patterns caused a 2.6% and 1.3% decrease, respectively, in China's carbon emissions from 2010 to 2012. In addition, China tends to shift gradually from an investment to a consumption-driven economy. The proportion of CO2 emissions induced by consumption had a declining trend before 2010 but grew from 28.6%-29.1% during 2010-2012.
A growing body of literature discusses the CO2 emissions of cities. Still, little is known about black carbon (BC), a short-lived warming agent. Identifying the drivers of urban BC emissions is ...crucial for targeting cleanup efforts. A consumption-based approach enables all emissions to be allocated along the production chain to the product and place of final consumption, whereas a production approach attributes emissions to the place where goods and services are produced. In this study, we calculate the production-based and consumption-based emissions in 2012 in four Chinese megacities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing. The results show that capital formation is the largest contributor, accounting for 37%–69% of consumption-based emissions. Approximately 44% of BC emissions related to goods consumed in Chongqing and more than 60% for Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin occur outside of the city boundary. The large gap between consumption and production-based emissions can be attributed to the great difference in embodied emission intensities. Therefore, collaborative efforts to reduce emission intensity can be effective in mitigating climate change for megacities as either producers or consumers.
•We calculate consumption-based black carbon emissions for four Chinese megacities.•Capital formation is the largest contributor to consumption-based emissions.•44%–66% of consumption-based emissions are embodied in imports.•Large net imported emissions are attributable to a relatively lower emission intensity.
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