Structural Decomposition Analysis of Carbon Emissions and Policy Recommendations for Energy Sustainability in Xinjiang

Changjian Wang,Fei Wang

doi:10.3390/su7067548

Abstract

Regional carbon dioxide emissions study is necessary for China to realize the emissions mitigation. An environmental input–output structural decomposition analysis (IO-SDA) has been conducted in order to uncover the driving forces for the increment in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in Xinjiang from both production and final demands perspectives from 1997 to 2007. According to our research outcomes, emissions increase can be illustrated as a competition between consumption growth (per capita GDP) and efficiency improvement (carbon emission intensity). Consumption growth have caused an increase of 109.98 Mt carbon dioxide emissions during 1997 to 2007, and efficiency improvement have caused a 97.03 Mt decrease during the same period. Per capita GDP is the most important driver for the rapid emission growth, while carbon emission intensity is the significant contributor to offset these increments. In addition, production structure changes performed as a new major driver for the steep rise in carbon dioxide emissions in recent years (2002–2007), indicating that the rapid emission growth in Xinjiang is the result of structural changes in the economy making it more carbon-intensive. From the viewpoint of final demands, fixed capital formation contributed the highest carbon dioxide emission, followed by inter-provincial export and urban residential consumption; while inter-provincial imports had the biggest contributions to offset emission increments. Based on our analysis results, Xinjiang may face great challenges to curb carbon dioxide emissions in the near future. However, several concrete mitigation measures have been further discussed and then raised by considering the regional realities, aiming to harmonize regional development and carbon dioxide emissions reduction.

Highlights

Carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion for promoting economic development are regarded as the important drivers for global climate changes [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Emissions increase can be illustrated as a competition between consumption growth and efficiency improvement during 1997 to 2007
structural decomposition analysis (SDA) model based on an environmental input–output table was employed to uncover the causes of carbon dioxide emission changes in Xinjiang province during 1997 to 2007

Summary

Introduction

Carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion for promoting economic development are regarded as the important drivers for global climate changes [1,2,3,4,5,6]. The biggest emerging and developing country, has become the world’s top energy consumer and CO2 emitter after decades of rapid economic growth and rapid-pace urbanization and industrialization [7,8,9,10,11]. Under such a circumstance, Chinese government released a binding reduction target, namely to decrease carbon dioxide emissions per unit gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 by 40%–45% compared to the 2005 level [12,13], as well as slash the intensity of carbon emissions per unit GDP by 17% in 2015 compared to the 2010 level during the. Peters et al conducted a structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to analyze how changes in technology, economic structure, urbanization, and lifestyles affected China’s growing carbon emissions from 1992 to 2002 [15], and found that infrastructure construction and urban household consumption had played big effects on total emissions, while technology and efficiency improvements have only partially offset emissions growth

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Discussion

Conclusion