“New normal” characteristics show in China's energy footprints and carbon footprints

Abstract

Around the 2010s, China's economy has entered a “new normal” stage—transitioning from an extensive to an intensive growth mode. This study aims to investigate whether China's energy and carbon footprints also show these “new normal” characteristics. We evaluate China's energy and carbon footprints of 42 sectors from 2007 to 2017. The “new normal” characteristics are reflected from three dimensions: trend, structure, and driving factor. The results show that while the growth rate of China's energy and carbon footprints has slowed down, the total footprints are still increasing. The footprints induced by consumption have gradually exceeded those induced by export, and the tertiary industrial sectors became critical nodes in footprint networks. Furthermore, economic structure and development level have been major drivers of energy and carbon footprint growth. The findings reveal that China's energy and carbon footprints show similar “new normal” characteristics as economic development. This supports the targeted formulation of China's future policies to achieve sustainable development.