• Energy Research
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• 8. Economic growth close
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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.