Energy-related GHG emissions of the textile industry in China

Abstract

As the sixth largest energy consuming industry sector in China, the textile industry is encountering great challenges in reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Considering the existing studies have the limitation of lacking updated data and include limited energy sources, this study will conduct a comprehensive analysis of the GHG emissions in China's textile industry and analyze the emission characteristics. The results show that coal consumption is the main source of GHG emissions in China's textile industry. The second largest GHG emission source is electricity consumption, which is primarily from the Eastern China, Central China and Northern China Power Grids. A driving force factor analysis reveals that the order of intensity for the driving forces is the production scale, the energy intensity, the energy structure and the emission factors. In particular, the increasing scale of production is the main factor driving increasing GHG emissions; however, energy intensity reduction and energy structure optimization can effectively reduce GHG emissions. This study also summarizes the main energy saving measures being used by the textile industry in China. The measures used in the spinning, weaving and wetting processes are found to have high energy saving potential and a short payback period. Scenario analysis indicates that under the optimal technology application scenario, GHG emissions would be 34.3% less than emissions under the baseline scenario in 2030. Furthermore, GHG emissions per unit output value would be 0.18t/million RMB, which approaches the advanced international level of 0.14t/million RMB. Corresponding polices for reducing GHG emission in the textile industry need to be considered based on the implications indicated in this study.