摘要
China is one of the world’s major importers and exporters. On the one hand, massive exports have created enormous economic value and employment opportunities for Chinese and become one of the vital forces underpinning the country’s economic growth. On the other hand, exports have caused a huge amount of energy resource consumption and carbon emissions and added pressure to the country for a sustainable growth. China exports a wide variety of products, each of which is attached to a different industry chain with different energy consumptions. Therefore, the evolution of the product structure has become one of the key factors affecting China’s future energy consumption and economic growth. To further promote nationwide energy conservation and emission reduction, reduce the pressure exerted by economic growth on energy consumption and the environment and win more space for sustainable economic growth, it is imperative to understand energy consumption and carbon emissions embodied in export products and provide support for China’s export policy adjustment. This study attempts to calculate, compare and analyze the embodied energy and carbon emissions in 46 major export products using the full life cycle assessment method, and concludes by offering policy recommendations.
China is one of the world’s major importers and exporters. On the one hand, massive exports have created enormous economic value and employment opportunities for Chinese and become one of the vital forces underpinning the country’s economic growth. On the other hand, exports have caused a huge amount of energy resource consumption and carbon emissions and added pressure to the country for a sustainable growth. China exports a wide variety of products, each of which is attached to a different industry chain with different energy consumptions. Therefore, the evolution of the product structure has become one of the key factors affecting China’s future energy consumption and economic growth. To further promote nationwide energy conservation and emission reduction, reduce the pressure exerted by economic growth on energy consumption and the environment and win more space for sustainable economic growth, it is imperative to understand energy consumption and carbon emissions embodied in export products and provide support for China’s export policy adjustment. This study attempts to calculate, compare and analyze the embodied energy and carbon emissions in 46 major export products using the full life cycle assessment method, and concludes by offering policy recommendations.
