The accounting method and application of CO2emissions responsibility by the electricity sector at the provincial level in China

Abstract

When accounting the CO2 emissions responsibility of the electricity sector at the provincial level in China, it is of great significance to consider the scope of both producers’ and the consumers’ responsibility, since this will promote fairness in defining emission responsibility and enhance cooperation in emission reduction among provinces. This paper proposes a new method for calculating carbon emissions from the power sector at the provincial level based on the shared responsibility principle and taking into account interregional power exchange. This method can not only be used to account the emission responsibility shared by both the electricity production side and the consumption side, but it is also applicable for calculating the corresponding emission responsibility undertaken by those provinces with net electricity outflow and inflow. This method has been used to account for the carbon emissions responsibilities of the power sector at the provincial level in China since 2011. The empirical result...