Ecological accounting of the Chinese society 2012–2020 based on extended exergy

Abstract

China's social system has undergone unprecedented economic transformation in the past decade. It is essential that the relationship between the country's socio-economic development and natural ecosystem be revealed, thereby revealing the evolutionary trajectory of its biophysical sustainability. The extended exergy accounting (EEA) method offers a thermodynamics-based tool to evaluate the structure and function of a social system and objectively estimate the impacts of human activities on sustainable development and broader ecosystems. This study aims to perform extended exergy analysis to trace the flows of resources, labor, capital, and environmental remediation exegetics in China's society from 2012 to 2020. During the accounting period, the average annual growth rate of total extended exergy (TEE) was just 1.2%. The TEE in the conversion and tertiary sectors ew noticeably faster than those in other sub-sectors, while the TEE in the extraction and agriculture sectors showed a declining trend. The TEE in 2020 reached 764.50 EJ, of which 179.13 EJ were attributed to Cumulative Exergy Consumption, 74.89 EJ were attributed to labor, 68.85 EJ to capital, and 441.63 EJ to environmental remediation costs. The indicator assessment reflects an enhancement in the sustainability of the Chinese social system, particularly the rapid improvement in labor and capital-related indicators. Comparing the results with other countries demonstrates that the gap between China and developed nations has narrowed, with China's indicators for balancing resource production and capital flows rivaling those of the U.S. and the U.K. The objective revelation of the developmental and transitional trajectory of Chinese society, based on the EEA approach, provides valuable insights for other developing countries in achieving sustainable development.