Redai dili (Nov 2022)
Carbon Transfer and Responsibility Sharing of Chinese Urban Agglomerations
Abstract
Clearly defining the responsibility for carbon emissions can help urban agglomerations achieve their carbon peak and facilitate the construction of a low-carbon society. With the regional professional division of labor and intricate economic and trade links, the phenomenon of carbon transfer between urban agglomerations has become increasingly obvious, making it difficult to scientifically divide carbon emission responsibility based solely on producer or consumer responsibility. Based on the constructed multi-regional input-output model of cities in China, we calculated the scale and direction of carbon emissions and net carbon transfer on the production and consumption sides of each urban agglomeration. Considering the asymmetry of producer and consumer responsibility and the proportion of value-added trade of urban agglomeration outflow as the responsibility sharing factor, we propose a scheme for the power and responsibility distribution of net carbon transfer of urban agglomeration. The results show that (1) Under the accounting method of shifting from production-side responsibility to consumer responsibility, significant differences are observed in carbon emissions among urban agglomerations in China. Among them, the Hubao Eyu and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations have changed significantly. The inflow and outflow of intermediate products and the demand for end products from other urban agglomerations are the main reasons for the carbon transfer of urban agglomerations. 2) Some differences are observed in the responsibility-sharing factors among urban agglomerations. These factors are the largest on the West Bank of the Strait, followed by the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, central and southern Liaoning, and Changsha Zhuzhou Xiangtan Urban Agglomeration. The net carbon transfer of urban agglomerations occurs not only between economically developed coastal urban agglomerations but also between less developed inland urban agglomerations and coastal urban agglomerations. 3) The carbon emission scale of each urban agglomeration changed significantly under the carbon accounting scheme of "shared responsibility." Compared with the consumer side responsibility, the "responsibility sharing" carbon emissions of 12 urban agglomerations such as Hubao Eyu were relatively increased, which shows that these urban agglomerations bear more carbon emission responsibilities than those based on consumer responsibility when excluding the carbon transfer from responsibility sharing; Compared with the production side responsibility, the "responsibility sharing" carbon emissions of 9 urban agglomerations such as the Pearl River Delta were relatively increased, which shows that these urban agglomerations bear more carbon emission responsibilities than those based on producer responsibility when including the carbon transfer into responsibility sharing. The carbon emission responsibility determined according to the "benefit principle" considers the asymmetry of the carbon transfer responsibilities of producers and consumers. Sharing carbon responsibility according to the proportion of regional trade benefits reflects fairness and can better promote the implementation of carbon emission reduction measures.
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