• Energy Research
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Abstract Rapid economic growth and accelerating urbanization in the past three decades have accelerated the exhaustion of China’s mineral resources. China is the world’s largest consumer and importer of nickel resources; therefore, a growing domestic demand will increase China’s import dependence and in turn make it potentially vulnerable to supply shortages. One hundred years from 1950 to 2050 were examined for China’s nickel utilization. Identified domestic nickel resources can only sustain China’s industries until 2017, but nickel will reach peak utilization around the year of 2020–2022. Given the 5% annual increase in applications and the growing importation of minerals in China, the carrying duration of nickel resources until 2020 will require a nickel-recycling rate of more than 90%. To sustain China’s nickel utilization, future strategies should foster three solutions: maintaining a high level of imports, adjusting the landscape of nickel applications, and shifting from virgin mining of geological minerals to urban mining of anthropogenic resources.

This research examines the role of poverty and logistical operations under the circumstance of environmental deterioration with panel data of ASEAN states from 2007 to 2017. The system-generalized method of moments (GMM) was adopted due to the presence of endogeneity. The results indicate that poverty and logistical operations have significant and positive relationship with greater environmental degradation. Because poor people are not skilled, they have to consume natural resources in original and unsustainable way for their survival and profits, which results in greater level of deforestation. On another hand, lacking fuel-efficient/green vehicles and green practices in logistical operations of ASEAN countries, logistics activities mainly depend on fossil fuel consumption, which generates greater carbon emission, methane, and greenhouse emissions that can directly damage the environment and become a primary source of climate change. Therefore, reduction in environmental degradation can be achieved through reduction in poverty and encouraging renewable energy and green practices in logistical operations. In addition, this study also provides detailed policy implications to regulatory bodies and corporate sector in order to improve environmental sustainability through adoption of green practices and reduction in poverty.

From 2006 to 2009, the aggregate energy intensity of China fell by 14.38%,1) which means that China has made substantial progress towards its goal of achieving approximately a 20% reduction in energy intensity during the period of the 11th FYP (Five-Year Plan). This paper describes some new properties of the mechanism for the decrease in China’s energy intensity since the beginning of the 11th FYP. First, compared with the period of the 10th FYP, technical, structural, and residential energy-savings have been improved to a certain extent. Secondly, unlike the dynamic mechanism before 2000, technical energy savings have been the main driver of momentum since the beginning of the 11th FYP. Next, although structural energy savings are not the main factor, they are still a key factor for the decrease in energy intensity. Finally, residential energy savings are still a stable driver of momentum for the decline in China’s energy intensity.

The measurement and allocation of carbon emission responsibilities is a fundamental issue in China’s low-carbon development. However, existing studies of embodied carbon do not sufficiently consider the sectoral energy structure. In this work, we developed a high-resolution calculation method for embodied carbon that embeds the sectoral energy structure into traditional input–output methods, thus expanding the driving factors of SDA decomposition. Based on this method, we calculated the quantity, final consumption structure, and energy structure of embodied carbon in China’s 28 sectors from 2002 to 2018, drew a carbon emissions allocation Sankey diagram of China in 2018, and calculated the SDA decomposition results for 2002–2010 and 2010–2018. The results indicate that fixed capital formation was still the top contributor of embodied carbon, and it caused more coal consumption. “Construction for fixed capital formation” and “other services for domestic consumption” were the two most important drivers of carbon emissions. The final consumption quantity and energy intensity were the main factors that promoted and inhibited the growth of embodied carbon, respectively, while the effects of the input–output structure, sectoral energy structure, and carbon emission coefficient on reducing carbon emissions were obvious after 2010. This also revealed that policymakers should formulate differentiated emission reduction strategies according to the carbon emission characteristics of key sectors.

Abstract The primary problem in achieving carbon emission reduction and carbon peak is to identify the key driving factors and emission reduction potential of the industrial sector, especially in resource-cursed regions like Xinjiang. This study aimed to explore the key driving factors and abatement potential of carbon emissions based on the "energy-environment-economy" hybrid input-output model of Xinjiang during 1997-2017. The result showed that: (1)Industrial carbon emissions have experienced three stages: slow growth-rapid growth-stable growth. (2)Demand change effect and energy intensity effect were the determinants of industrial carbon emission change; Capital formation and domestic trade were the biggest drivers of carbon emissions growth, and the driving force of imports in international trade increased gradually over time. (3) The coal-based energy structure was both the biggest obstacle and the best entry point in carbon emission reduction. (4) Of the 28 key industry sectors, heavy industry including the production and supply of electricity and heat (S22), petroleum processing, coking and nuclear fuel processing (S11), chemical industry (S12), metal smelting and rolling (S14), and energy industries had the greatest potential for carbon reduction. The research findings provide scientific decision-making reference for Xinjiang to accurately grasp the carbon emission reduction potential of the industry and formulate a targeted carbon peak action plan.

AbstractLow-carbon energy and constraints of resources and environment will increasingly become two important factors inhibiting China's economic development in the future. According to the relationship and coordinating mechanisms among energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission and economic development, This paper establishes the two-dimensions evaluation indicating system based on balanced. Use data development analysis, through the fact data of some typical provinces in 2009, we make a comprehensive assessment of its historic coordination, analyze the degree of coordination and the reasons for the contradiction, strive to source the dialectical unity from similarities and differences, and finally proposed some political ideas and recommendations on promoting China's future coordinating development among economy, energy, and environmental.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of investment growth in energy sectors of western areas of China on the local economy and emission of carbon dioxide (CO2).Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a two‐region, ten‐sector recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model which is based on the input‐output table of Shaanxi Province for 2002.FindingsThree different scenarios are considered in a static analysis where the investment in the energy sector of western areas is increased at the rate of 20, 40 and 60 per cent. The changes of some macro‐economic variables are simulated under these scenarios. The long‐term effects on GDP and emission of CO2 in different scenarios are also simulated. The results show that the GDP growth is 0‐8.92 per cent, households disposable income growth is 0‐8.94 per cent, and emission of CO2 growth is 0‐11.10 per cent when the investment grows between 0 and 60 per cent. The oil and gas sector is the most effective sector whose growth rate is 0‐19.47 per cent. The effects of investment growth in base period are relatively big but weaken gradually over time in the long‐run.Originality/valueThe paper is of value in highlighting the importance (for policy makers) of considering the development and application of low‐emission technologies to prevent further environmental degradation.

Chinese contractors undertaking international projects are frequently criticized for their poor Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) performance. It is noticed that people with different occupations may perceive OHS differently. From a qualitative perspective, this study investigates the perceived OHS performances of design managers and construction managers engaged in Chinese overseas construction projects, considering a range of subgroups classified by people’s overseas experience, project size, project industry, project location, and firm size. The analysis was based on an e-questionnaire survey that sampled responses from 52 design managers and 160 construction managers involved in 110 international projects, and face-to-face interviews with 26 managers. The findings indicate that the assessment variation of OHS performance between design managers and construction managers is not only related to their different mental ways, but also can be mediated by their in-progress communication and affected by project and organizational conditions. The varying OHS performance in projects with different sizes or from different regions also suggests that Chinese contractors should be more proactive in OHS management instead of passively responding to external requirements.

Abstract Mounting environmental pressures led China to focus on the effectiveness of the environmental regulation to control pollution. Since the shadow economy, or underground economic activities that are not included in official statistics, accounts for an increasing fraction of China's economy, its impacts on environmental quality should be carefully evaluated. In this study, the main research questions are as follows: 1) What is the extent of the effect of environmental regulation on environmental quality? and 2) What are the factors that influence the impact of environmental regulation on environmental pollution? A theoretical model is developed to explain the relationship among the environmental regulation, shadow economy, and environmental quality in China. An empirical analysis is conducted to test the three propositions of the model, thereby examining the explanatory power of the theoretical model. Concretely, using panel data from 30 provinces for the period of 1998–2012, the generalized method of moments (GMM) method is employed to control for potential endogeneity and introduce dynamic effects. The estimation results indicate that stringent environmental regulation and the level of the shadow economy are both positively related to China's environmental pollution; however, the results also indicate that tighter environmental control would help reduce pollution at a given level of the shadow economy. Moreover, an increase in the proportion of corrupt officials may weaken the environmental regulation, which would consequently lead to the increase in illegal production and total pollutant emissions. Besides, many economic and social factors may also affect the environmental quality. For instance, the development of secondary industry contributes toward an increase in pollutant emissions; however, increased research and development (R&D) spending on eco-friendly industrial operations can help to reduce pollution.