Low-Carbon Transformation of the Power System in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Abstract

China’s “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” goal relies greatly on the low-carbon transition of the power system, but the existing research rarely explores the low-carbon transition of the regional power system. By using the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) greenhouse gas inventory compilation method and the network model analysis, the carbon emissions caused by the power generation and the power consumption in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the Greater Bay Area) was quantified. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method was used to quantify the influence of socio-economic factors on the electricity-related carbon emissions in the Greater Bay Area. The results show that Hong Kong and Macao have made slow progress in the low-carbon transition of the power system, and Guangdong’s share of the low-carbon power continues to increase. The rapidly expanding economic scale and the power demand were the most important drivers of the emissions growth in the Greater Bay Area. The low-carbon electricity imported from outside regions and the improved efficiency in the sectoral electricity consumption offset part of the emission growth.

Keywords

• guangdong-hong kong-macao greater bay area (greater bay area)
• power transmission
• carbon emissions
• carbon neutrality