The impact of embodied land flow in interregional trade on carbon emissions in China

Abstract

The interregional flow of land embodied in remote linkages exerts a significant impact on land use and transfer of carbon emissions from land use patterns among regions, underscoring the importance of investigating this process for sustainable land utilization. This study quantifies the embodied land flow and its impact on carbon emissions in China, and further clarifies its characteristics by constructing the contribution and dependency index. The results show that more economically developed regions occupy land in less developed regions through embodied land flow. The flow of various land types is heterogeneous across regions, reflecting disparities in regional endowments. The developed coastal provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai all transfer more than 10 million tons of carbon emissions to other regions. The average levels of contributions to and dependence on embodied land flow in Chinese provinces increased from 20.51% to 23.13% in 2012 to 27.14% and 27.23% in 2017, respectively. This suggests that interregional land system linkages have strengthened and land supply and demand have intensified. Furthermore, the embodied land flow and its associated transfer of carbon emissions from land use can be assessed to ascertain the entities responsible for land consumption and carbon emissions. This study underscores the significance of examining the interplay between land use and carbon emissions in shaping sustainable development pathways.