Target Gap of Emission Reduction for China:Analysis based on Elastic Decoupling

The present paper analyzes historically the relationship between carbon emission and economic development by different stages through adopting elastic decoupling methods and Tapio evaluation criteria along with a comparison with the national Five Year Plans. The analysis shows that the influencing factors to the relationship between carbon emission and economy in China are different, and economic development and carbon emission have less connection in the recent 30 years of reform and opening-up in China. It is a difficult task to realize the promise that we will reduce carbon emission by 40%-50% in 2020 based on the data from historical experience and different expectations for economic development from economists. Through constructing the calcula- tion model of carbon emission intensity gap according to different development scenarios, the analysis shows that economic growth, infrastructure investment and further development of industrial-ization are the main drivers to the increase of carbon emission, technological progress, and particularly, the reduction of energy consumption is the primary means to reduce carbon emission in China. It is imperative to transform the economic growth pattern, and it is a grand task to perform and there is a long way to go for China to maintain economic growth and reduce carbon intensity.

What decarbonized the residential building operation worldwide since the 2000s

Decarbonization in operational residential buildings worldwide has become critical in achieving the carbon neutral target due to the growing household energy demand.To accelerate the pace of global carbon neutrality,this study explores the operational carbon change in global residential buildings through the generalized Divisia index method and decoupling analysis,considering the decarbonization levels of residential buildings at different scales.The results show that(1)most of the samples showed a decrease in the total emissions from 2000 to 2019.Except for China and the United States(US),the carbon emissions in global residential building operations decreased by 7.95 million tons of carbon dioxide(MtCO_(2))per year over the study period.Emissions per gross domestic product(GDP)was the most positive driver causing the decarbonization of residential buildings,while GDP was the most negative driver.(2)Carbon intensity was essential to achieving a strong decoupling of economic development and carbon emissions.The US almost consistently presented strong decoupling,while China showed weak decoupling over the last two decades.(3)The pace of decarbonization in global residential building operations is gradually slowing down.From 2000 to 2019,decarbonization from residential buildings across 30 countries was 2094.3 MtCO_(2),with a decarbonization efficiency of 3.4%.Overall,this study addresses gaps in evaluating global decarbonization from operational residential buildings and provides a reference for evaluating building decarbonization by other emitters.

Impact of carbon emissions on economic factors and economic growth in China’s underdeveloped regions: Evidence from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Global warming and carbon emissions are highly concerned by countries all over the world.Since 2005,China has surpassed the United States as the world’s first carbon emission country,but in recent years,China has made remarkable achievements in carbon emission regulation.In 2018,China’s carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP dropped by 4.0%,a cumulative decline of 45.8%over 2005 and equivalent to a reduction of 5.26 billion tons of CO2.But in underdeveloped areas of the western China,economic growth and energy conservation and emission reduction are still facing a severe contradiction.This paper mainly explores the impact of carbon emissions on economic factors and economic growth in China’s underdeveloped regions(Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)over the period from 1998 to 2017.The Tapio decoupling elasticity index was used to measure the degree of dependence of Guangxi’s economic growth on carbon emissions,and the influence of economic development factors(the GDP,population,technology level and urbanization level)on CO2 emissions was analyzed with the STIRPAT model.The main findings are presented as follows:(1)The relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth in China’s underdeveloped regions over the period from 1998 to 2017 is mainly characterized by weak decoupling;(2)According to OLS(Ordinary Least Square)modeling results,for every 1%increase in carbon dioxide emissions,economy grows by 0.947%,population size decreases 0.621%,urbanization level increases 0.120%,and technical level declines 0.830%.In view of the research conclusions,some suggestions are put forward to promote the economic transformation and upgrading,improve the environmental protection awareness of the population and actively promote the new urbanization.