Low-carbon Urban Development Research Articles

Decoupling effect and driving factors of carbon footprint in megacity Wuhan, Central China

BackgroundChina’s 35 largest cities, including Wuhan, are inhabited by approximately 18% of the Chinese population, and account for 40% energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Wuhan is the only sub-provincial city in Central China and, as the eighth largest economy nationwide, has experienced a notable increase in energy consumption. However, major knowledge gaps exist in understanding the nexus of economic development and carbon footprint and their drivers in Wuhan.MethodsWe studied Wuhan for the evolutionary characteristics of its carbon footprint (CF), the decoupling relationship between economic development and CF, and the essential drivers of CF. Based on the CF model, we quantified the dynamic trends of CF, carbon carrying capacity, carbon deficit, and carbon deficit pressure index from 2001 to 2020. We also adopted a decoupling model to clarify the coupled dynamics among total CF, its accounts, and economic development. We used the partial least squares method to analyze the influencing factors of Wuhan’s CF and determine the main drivers.ResultsThe CF of Wuhan increased from 36.01 million t CO2eq in 2001 to 70.07 million t CO2eq in 2020, a growth rate of 94.61%, which was much faster than that of the carbon carrying capacity. The energy consumption account (84.15%) far exceeded other accounts, and was mostly contributed by raw coal, coke, and crude oil. The carbon deficit pressure index fluctuated in the range of 8.44–6.74%, indicating that Wuhan was in the relief zone and the mild enhancement zone during 2001–2020. Around the same time, Wuhan was in a transition stage between weak and strong CF decoupling and economic growth. The main driving factor of CF growth was the urban per capita residential building area, while energy consumption per unit of GDP was responsible for the CF decline.ConclusionsOur research highlights the interaction of urban ecological and economic systems, and that Wuhan’s CF changes were mainly affected by four factors: city size, economic development, social consumption, and technological progress. The findings are of realistic significance in promoting low-carbon urban development and improving the city’s sustainability, and the related policies can offer an excellent benchmark for other cities with similar challenges.

Spatio-temporal effects of urbanization on CO2 emissions: Evidences from 268 Chinese cities

To comprehensively capture the spatio-temporal effects of urbanization on CO2 emissions, we develop an innovative hybrid spatial model (SLX-GTWR) that incorporates spatial spillover effects and spatio-temporal heterogeneity. Using nighttime light data and a new dataset, we measure urbanization in terms of scale and intensity and estimate monthly fossil CO2 emissions at a spatial resolution of 0.1° for 268 Chinese cities. The empirical results show that: (1) The direct effect, spatial spillover effect, and total effect of urbanization on CO2 emissions are spatio-temporal heterogeneity. (2) In terms of temporal heterogeneity, the spatial spillover effects of urbanization on CO2 emissions is negative and shows a trend of first increase and then decrease. (3) In terms of spatial heterogeneity, positive spatial spillovers occurred in cities around three major clusters, while the spillovers of the clusters were negative. Overall, the most cities in China has reached a stage where urbanization is conducive to carbon reduction. Our detailed results inform the development of targeted low-carbon urban development policies.

Can the Development of the Digital Economy Reduce Urban Carbon Emissions? Case Study of Guangdong Province

The digital economy plays an important role in the high-quality development of cities, and low-carbon urban development is an integral part of this evolution. Therefore, it is important to explore the impact of the development of the digital economy on urban carbon emissions. By considering 21 cities in Guangdong Province as the object of the research, this study measured the levels of the digital economy from 2011 to 2019 by using an entropy weight-based TOPSIS model, analyzed the spatiotemporal changes, and used geographically and temporally weighted regression to examine the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the impact of the digital economy on urban carbon emissions. The results showed the following: (1) The development of the digital economy in Guangdong Province in general exhibited a stable trend of growth, and the average level of its development in the 21 cities considered increased by 3.4 times during the study period. (2) The level of development of the digital economy in the Pearl River Delta was significantly higher than that in northern, western, and eastern Guangdong, with Shenzhen being the most developed city in this regard (0.8473), and Shanwei being the least developed (0.0633). (3) The impact of the development of the digital economy on carbon emissions had significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The benefits of the development of the digital economy in terms of a reduction in carbon emissions was the most significant in the Pearl River Delta, and regional differences were prominent. (4) The reductions in carbon emissions in cities with a highly developed digital economy were more significant than has been reported in past studies in the area. However, it had a negative effect on the urban carbon emissions in cities with a poorly developed digital economy. The results of this study can be used to guide policies related to the high-quality development of the urban digital economy.

Response and Multi-Scenario Prediction of Carbon Storage and Habitat Quality to Land Use in Liaoning Province, China

Liaoning Province, as an old industrial urban agglomeration since the founding of China, is an important link between the Bohai Economic Zone and the Northeast Economic Zone, and it has made great contributions to the economic development of China. The transformation of China’s economy and heavy industrial development have posed great challenges to the long-lasting growth of Liaoning Province. In this study, the driving force of land expansion was detected using the patch-generating land use simulation (PLUS) model in Liaoning Province, and the land situation in 2030 was predicted under natural development, ecological protection, and economic development scenarios. We then further coupled the PLUS model with the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) model to explore the spatial autocorrelation and synergistic relationship between carbon storage and habitat quality. The results indicated the following: (1) The total accuracy of the simulation in 2020 using the PLUS model reached 94.16%, and the Kappa coefficient reached 0.9089; therefore, the simulation result was highly reliable. (2) The overall spatial pattern of both carbon storage and habitat quality decreased from the northwest and southeast to the middle, and habitat quality had an impact on carbon storage to a certain extent, with a positive spatial correlation. (3) The ecological protection (EP) scenario was the only development prospect with increasing total carbon storage, which could increase carbon sequestration by approximately 7.83 × 106 Mg/C, and development prospects with optimal habitat quality. (4) Weak trade-off and weak synergy dominated in the 2030 natural development (ND) scenario; most regions showed weak synergy in the ecological protection scenario, spatial heterogeneity became more pronounced in the economic development (ED) scenario, and a strong trade-off and strong synergy emerged in individual regions. The results of the study have a positive feedback effect on establishing an ecological security barrier in Liaoning Province and furthering long-lasting low-carbon urban development.

Promote Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality with The Concept of Global Warming and Carbon Emission Reduction

To achieve peak carbon neutrality, the authors propose an approach based on the concept of global warming carbon reduction. Based on the concepts of "existing carbon economy" and "low-carbon city", the author summarizes the research on low-carbon evaluation indicators at home and abroad and selects the Hierarchical Process (AHP) as an example. This has been proven by many studies. From 2013 to 2020, calculate and evaluate the low-carbon development level of Province A, and analyze the low-carbon development level of 11 provincial-level cities. Display: From 2013 to 2020, the low-carbon development index of cities in province A showed an upward trend. In 2020, the province's urbanization carbon development index reached 0.899, an increase of 41.2% over 2019 and five times that of 2020. Among them, the ecological environment index and low-carbon development index increased by 49 and 15 times respectively in the past six years, while the economic development index and social development index only increased by 5 times and 2 times respectively, it proves that while maintaining the steady growth of the social economy, province A is actively promoting the process of urban low-carbon development and has achieved table-top results. Blockchain technology can empower the digital transformation of traditional industries, optimize business processes, reduce operating costs, improve collaborative efficiency, provide a regulatory environment for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, build a credible and efficient carbon trading platform and market, and help carbon It is of great significance to achieve the goals of neutralization and carbon peaking and the green and high-quality development of my country's economy and society.

Evaluation of Cultural Heritage Conservation in the Context of Low-Carbon Urban Development

The problem of climate change threatens the destruction of urban identity by negatively affecting the structure of cities. There is no strategy determined for 'urban protected areas' in the arrangements made for the solution. Contributing to the national 'sustainable development' goals, within the framework of energy efficiency, it is aimed to contribute to the evaluation of innovative application approaches and the determination of strategies for the current renewal methods of cultural assets. Literature review and face-to-face interviews were used as methods. A comparative analysis of the application differences between the repair of a national historical building and the repair of an international historical building was made. As a result; In order to increase the quality of urban life in protected areas, the basic principles of urban renewal should be considered integrated with all strategies and a climate action plan should be made from the national level to the local level.

Coupling Coordination Measurement and Evaluation of Urban Digitalization and Green Development in China.

The coordinated promotion of urban digitalization and green development is an inevitable requirement for sustainable development in the digital age. Based on the coupling mechanism of urban digitalization and green development, in this study, we took 282 cities at the prefecture level and above in China from 2011 to 2019 as the research object, and we constructed the evaluation index system and calculated the coupling coordination degree (CD&GDD) of the two through the coupling coordination degree model. We further used the Dagum Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation, Markov chain and Moran's I to assess the spatial effects of the regional differences, dynamic evolution trends and degree of coupling coordination. The results show the following: (1) The level of urban digitalization and green development show a fluctuating upward trend, and the interaction between the two is obvious. (2) Although the CD&GDD of most cities is continuously improving, it is still at a low level. There are large differences in the levels between the regions. (3) The inter-regional differences are the main source of the large overall differences in the CD&GDD in China, and these are mainly composed of the hypervariable density and net differences between the regions. (4) The phenomenon of "club convergence" exists in the CD&GDD. (5) The coupling coordination relationship between cities has a substantial spatial effect, and the spatial effect has obvious regional heterogeneity. The results and conclusions provide a reference for developing countries to promote green and low-carbon urban development.

Impacts of Urban Spatial Development Patterns on Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Chinese Cities

A rational urban spatial development pattern is necessary for China to optimize urban resource allocation and promote low-carbon urban development. Although research on carbon emission reduction has increased, few studies examine the impact of urban spatial development patterns from a spatial–structural perspective. This study uses static and dynamic spatial Durbin models to analyze the dynamic impact of urban spatial development patterns on carbon emissions based on municipal-level statistical data and LandScan high-resolution global population distribution data from 2004 to 2019. The empirical results show that (1) urban spatial development patterns characterized by coefficients of variation have an inverted U-shaped relationship with carbon emissions; (2) direct spatial spillover effects have a long-term U-shaped relationship, while indirect effects have an inverted U-shaped relationship; (3) by analyzing the heterogeneity of city sizes and geographical area, the smaller the city is, the more effectively the compact urban spatial development pattern reduces carbon emissions; and (4) compact urban spatial development patterns in the west suppress carbon emissions compared to the east and central regions. The findings of this paper have policy implications for optimizing spatial development patterns and achieving low-carbon development in Chinese cities.

Closing the food waste loop: Analysis of the agronomic performance and potential of food waste disposal products

The recycling of urban food waste (FW) is of great importance to the sustainable and low-carbon urban development. Focusing on the solid residues of FW aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion, this study selects three FW disposal products (FWDPs) and compares their nutrient compositions with the main traditional organic fertilizers in China through a literature review; carries out a seven-season field experiment with 30% of the nitrogen in FWDPs substituted for equal chemical nitrogen to explore the impacts on vegetable yields; and uses a field questionnaire to investigate farmers' awareness of FWDPs. FW aerobic compost and FW digestate solid residue can significantly increase seven-season total yields by 21.5% and 17.2% respectively compared with conventional chemical fertilizer alone, and maintain the same yield level with conventional combined application of chicken manure and chemical fertilizer, proved to be effective on crop yield as organic fertilizers. The case study of Xiamen indicates that FWDPs have great potential to produce organic fertilizers and reduce the application amount of pure chemical fertilizers by 5.6% under current conditions, where around one-third of restaurant FW is disposed of using anaerobic digestion technologies. Measures like formulating supportive regulations, expanding government propaganda, and producing qualified and cost-effective commercial organic fertilizers with FWDPs will improve farmers’ knowledge and acceptance of FWDPs.

Relationships between carbon emissions and urban population size and density, based on geo-urban scaling analysis: A multi‑carbon source empirical study

Urban sustainability focuses on coupled human-nature system and has attracted the attention of the world's policy and academia. This study applies geographically weighted regression and movement stratification regression in the urban scaling perspective. Multiple carbon sources were used to analyze the relationships between carbon emissions and urban population size, density. Results revealed the followings. (1) Overall, there are sub-linear scaling modes between urban size and total, industrial and residential carbon emissions. In contrast, a super-linear mode was found for transportation carbon emissions. (2) An examination of regional differences revealed disparities in carbon urban scaling exponents. (3) For total, industrial, and transportation carbon emissions, an oblique W-shape with a low left and high right side in the relationship between density urban scaling exponents and urban size was found. A U-shape relationship was found in residential carbon emissions. (4) One million urban population size is the threshold point. Increasing urban density can promote carbon reduction when the urban population is smaller than one million. In contrast, increasing urban density leads to more carbon emissions when the urban population exceeds one million. (5) Urban low-carbon development strategies should be developed according to each region's different urban densities and scale characteristics.

Exploring low-carbon pilot city policy implementation: evidence from China

ABSTRACT China has established three rounds of low-carbon pilot city initiatives. However, a gap exists between policy making and successful implementation, and the effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction were found to be different among pilots. This paper considers the question of how low-carbon policies in cities can be implemented effectively and how policy combinations are adopted for GHG emissions reduction. It uses a mixed research approach, including Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and field investigation in Pilot Y (situated in the southwest China). The results show that, first, financial support and monitoring systems are necessary conditions, while political leadership is a sufficient condition. This means that the absence of financial support or monitoring systems could lead to increased GHG emissions, while the presence of political leadership always promotes the reduction of GHG emissions but may not be sufficient on its own to achieve them. Second, the target responsibility system (TRS) – a system used by higher government levels to assess the policy implementation of lower government levels – and human resource mechanisms cannot effectively lead to the promotion of GHG emissions reduction. Finally, in the absence of TRS and human resource mechanisms, environmental information disclosure (EID) was found to effectively promote low-carbon urban development by encouraging public participation. This paper reveals the complexity of the implementation of low-carbon policies in cities, identifies the link between city-level and national action, and enriches the theoretical explanation of governance and low-carbon policy implementation gaps in China. Key policy insights China’s low-carbon pilot city project is critical for reducing GHG emissions, however, the effects of the low-carbon pilot city programmes varied greatly. Financial support and monitoring systems are necessary conditions, while political leadership is a sufficient condition to achieve cities’ GHG emissions reduction goals. Local low-carbon development is limited and not put into practice at the city level in China, in part because of the absence of financial support and limited political attention. This study highlights the key conditions of organizational behaviour at the meso-level, and enriches the theoretical explanation of environmental policy implementation gaps in China.

Identifying interlinkages between urbanization and Sustainable Development Goals

Urbanization and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are important global issues in the current “Anthropocene”. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated global urban problems and hindered the ability to meet SDGs on time, while the broad interlinkages between urbanization and the SDGs remain poorly understood. This study shows that among the interlinkages of urbanization with 17 SDGs, synergies are observed with 151 targets (89%), among which 67 (40%) have stronger synergies, and trade-offs are observed with 66 targets (39%), among which 31 (18%) have stronger trade-offs. Furthermore, the synergies and trade-offs between urbanization and the achievement of SDGs are specifically analyzed based on four fundamental interaction fields: (a) public health and social welfare equality; (b) energy consumption and economic growth; (c) natural resource use and ecological/environmental impacts; and (d) international cooperation for development. Finally, based on these analyses, we propose four recommendations for sustainable urbanization, including (a) shared well-being and spatial justice for urban and rural residents; (b) guiding green and low-carbon urban development; (c) building resilient cities; and (d) promoting multilateral cooperation in cities, which can contribute to the achievement of SDGs by 2030.

Influences and pathways of urban form and lifestyle on carbon emission reduction

Urban areas experience high carbon emissions, impeding sustainable development, and causing global environmental changes. Low-carbon planning and lifestyle have the co-benefit of reducing carbon emissions and mediating environmental threats. However, the relationship among carbon emissions, urban form, and lifestyle remains unclear, limiting low-carbon urban and societal development. Thus, the objective of this study was to simultaneously clarify the direct and indirect influences and pathways of lifestyle (i.e., expenditures on diet, housing, transport, and entertainment) and urban form characteristics (i.e., dispersion, patch area, fragmentation, and aggregation of building patches) on carbon emissions, and identify vital factors for mitigating carbon emissions. Moreover, a partial least squares model was established and analyzed using urban-scale data from 352 townships in Taiwan, which was used at novel spatial scales. The empirical results demonstrate that maximizing the building patch area and minimizing the dispersion, fragmentation, and aggregation of building patches can reduce carbon emissions. Furthermore, minimizing expenditures on diet, housing, transport, and entertainment would have a similar effect. The findings established that proper policies for lifestyle and urban form can reduce carbon emissions and serve as useful strategies for developing low-carbon societies and cities.

How to Promote Low-Carbon Cities with Blockchain Technology? A Blockchain-Based Low-Carbon Development Model for Chinese Cities

Cities are the important spaces, responsible entities and action units for achieving low-carbon and high-quality economy. Blockchain technology provides a new solution for low-carbon development in cities. Based on low-carbon information sharing, low-carbon incentives, low-carbon regulations with blockchain technology, this paper endeavors to propose a low-carbon development model for Chinese cities. The results indicate that: (1) blockchain-based governments, enterprises, city dwellers, and third-party service agencies are important stakeholders in promoting urban low-carbon development; (2) the effectiveness of the blockchain platform needs the coordination between the production and consumption systems, the equal emphasis on systemicity and long-term effectiveness, and the deep integration of government regulations and market mechanism; (3) blockchain-based information sharing instruments, incentive instruments, and regulation instruments should be applied to low-carbon development in cities; (4) blockchain technology promotes low-carbon development for cities in both direct ways and indirect ways. This study can provide a reference for the urban sustainable development in China and other countries.

Total CO2 emissions associated with buildings in 266 Chinese cities: characteristics and influencing factors

Rapid urbanization and increasing demand for buildings have brought tremendous pressure to reduce carbon emissions for cities. Quantifying the building emissions and exploring the socioeconomic characteristics of CO2 emissions can promote urban low-carbon development. However, existing studies have not yet provided a complete and comprehensive database of city-level CO2 emissions associated with buildings in China. Here, we calculated the building-related CO2 emissions for 266 Chinese cities in 2010 and 2015. Results show that total carbon emissions of buildings increased by 26%. We further divided cities into four groups: megalopolis, metropolises, large cities and medium and small cities. The high-emission concentrated in large cities, whereas medium and small cities showed higher emission intensity and lower per capita emissions. We show that CO2 emissions of buildings were significantly correlated with tertiary industrial outputs. The results provide scientific support for policy evaluation in a multilevel governance context for reducing CO2 emissions of buildings.

The Relationship between Environmental Regulation, Industrial Transformation Change and Urban Low-Carbon Development: Evidence from 282 Cities in China.

Environmental regulation (ER) plays an important role in urban low-carbon development (ULCD). First of all, we evaluate the ULCD level of 282 cities in China from 2005 to 2020 by constructing an index group and entropy method. Two panel models are then used to test the spillover effects and threshold effects of ER and industrial structure on ULCD. The results show that the ULCD level of most cities is still in grade III (0.27–0.38) or IV (0.38–0.49), and the level of central-western cities is generally lower than that of eastern cities. Furthermore, the spillover effect of ER and industrial structure upgrading (UIS) on ULCD is positive in eastern cities (0.038) but opposite in central or western cities (−0.024). Further results show that the positive effects of optimization of industrial structure (OIS) and UIS are gradually increasing with the improvement of ER. However, the positive effects are more beneficial to the eastern cities. Therefore, the conclusions of this study can provide a decision-making reference for local government to comprehensively formulate environmental and industrial policies to enhance the low-carbon development of cities.

Multi-hazard resilience assessment framework for prefabricated underground stations with a large-span roof structure

Prefabricated underground stations (PUSs) have been gradually applied as a new approach to urban low-carbon development; however, safe service for the city over the entire PUS life cycle remains a crucial issue. This study therefore investigates the resilience of PUSs with a large-span roof structure in multi-hazard urban environments. A joint vulnerability function is established to represent the PUS physical resilience, and a restorability function is established to represent the local community resilience. The physical resilience and community resilience are integrated to construct a PUS resilience assessment framework (PUS-RAF). The results indicates that: (1) the vulnerability function, experiment and FEA jointly present the PUS assembled joints' contact failure mode; (2) multi-hazard resilience assessment reveals the inherent sensitivity of PUS schemes (3) PUS-RAF predicts a joint scheme highly inclusive of multi-hazard factor; (4) the final PUS scheme accommodates the engineering and community. The PUS-RAF thus provides a practical assessment tool and application value for PUS resilience in multi-hazard environment.

Has the Digital Economy Reduced Carbon Emissions?: Analysis Based on Panel Data of 278 Cities in China.

China is undergoing an urbanization process at an unprecedented scale, and low-carbon urban development is of great significance to the completion of the “dual carbon goals”. At the same time, the digital economy has become an important engine for urban development, and its role in environmental improvement has become increasingly prominent. While the digital economy is booming, can it promote the low-carbon development of cities? Based on the panel data of 278 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this paper discusses the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions and the long-term development trend between the digital economy and carbon emissions, the impact of differences in the development level of the digital economy on carbon emissions reduction, and the impact of green energy efficiency in the relationship between the digital economy and carbon emissions. The results show that the digital economy has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emissions, and with the development of the digital economy, more and more cities show an absolute decoupling of the digital economy and carbon emissions and are turning to low-carbon development. The development level of the digital economy has a heterogeneous impact on carbon emissions. With the improvement of the development level of the digital economy, the effect on emission reduction is more significant. As a threshold variable, green energy efficiency affects the relationship between digital economy and carbon emissions. When green energy efficiency is low, the digital economy promotes carbon emissions, and when green energy efficiency is high, the digital economy reduces carbon emissions.

Explore the theoretical basis and implementation strategy of low-carbon Urban Community Planning

Cities carry out various human production and living activities, consume a lot of carbon energy, become the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, and have an increasing impact on the climate. Therefore, as the main battlefield of carbon emission management, cities have become the focus of low-carbon research. The concept of a “low-carbon city” appears in dealing with global climate change. In order to further study the application of low carbon cities, this research discusses how to achieve the goal of low carbon cities from low carbon communities by introducing the concept of low carbon cities and the planning views of experts and scholars on low carbon cities, and based on the theoretical research and practical experience of low carbon cities. In the course of the study, Qianhai Cooperation Zone and Bao’an Central District in Shenzhen are introduced as case studies to analyze the practical application of low-carbon city construction. Through this study, we found that the purpose of low-carbon cities is to provide physical space for resource savings, low waste emissions, high operating efficiency, green and sustainable urban activities. For the completely dispersed urban structure in some regions of China, the polycentric network structure is a favorable urban structure for these regions to achieve low carbon and efficient development. The polycentric network cities have high urban density and activity intensity, so corresponding low-carbon strategies can be effectively implemented according to different functional positioning, density and activity density. On the other hand, in order to achieve efficient and low-carbon urban development, the community should be the basic unit. Only when low carbon is realized in the community can the basic low carbon of urban life be guaranteed and the low carbon of the whole city be realized.

Can Digital Finance Promote Comprehensive Carbon Emission Performance? Evidence from Chinese Cities.

Improving urban comprehensive carbon emission performance (CCEP) is the inevitable choice for China’s low-carbon development. With the continuous integration of digital technology and financial elements, the development of urban digital finance has also been significantly improved. To further explore the impact of urban digital finance on urban low-carbon development, using the data of 281 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this paper firstly evaluates the urban CCEP, and further empirically investigates how digital finance influences CCEP. The empirical results show that: (1) Digital finance significantly improves the urban CCEP, and after conducting robustness tests and addressing the endogeneity issue, the above conclusion is robust. (2) For the sub-indicators, there is a U-shaped relationship between the coverage breadth of digital finance and CCEP. Moreover, the improvement of usage depth and digital support services could promote CCEP. (3) The channel tests indicate that digital finance improves the CCEP mainly by promoting green technology innovation and the development of urban tertiary industry. Meantime, digital finance has a stronger impact on improving CCEP in cities with more developed traditional finance, and the positive effect is significant in non-old industrial base cities and a two-control zone. Finally, this paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions.