Determinants of the embodied CO2 transfers through electricity trade within China

Xu Peng; Hong Chen; Ruyin Long; Honglin Zhong; Chao Zhang; Guangfei Yang; Jingke Hong; Xinxian Qi; Qingqing Sun; Wanqi Ma; Saige Wang; Cuncun Duan; Pengbang Wei; Yufang Peng; Jindao Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118540

Determinants of the embodied CO₂ transfers through electricity trade within China

J Environ Manage. 2023 Oct 15:344:118540. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118540. Epub 2023 Jul 15.

Authors

Xu Peng¹, Hong Chen², Ruyin Long², Honglin Zhong³, Chao Zhang⁴, Guangfei Yang⁵, Jingke Hong⁶, Xinxian Qi⁷, Qingqing Sun⁸, Wanqi Ma², Saige Wang⁹, Cuncun Duan¹⁰, Pengbang Wei¹¹, Yufang Peng¹², Jindao Chen¹³

Affiliations

¹ School of Business, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China. Electronic address: jokexutj@163.com.
² School of Business, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
³ Institute of Blue and Green Development, Weihai Institute of Interdisciplinary Research, Shandong University, Weihai, 264209, China.
⁴ School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
⁵ Institute of Systems Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China.
⁶ School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, China.
⁷ School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
⁸ School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, China.
⁹ School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
¹⁰ Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China.
¹¹ School of Management, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
¹² Huanghe Business School, Henan University of Economics and Law, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
¹³ School of Civil Engineering and Engineering Management, Guangzhou Maritime University, Guangzhou, 510725, China.

PMID: 37459812
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118540

Abstract

There is unequal spatial distribution of resource endowment, population density, industrial structure, and economic development with diverse differences in labor, energy, and capital productivities in China. However, previous studies paid little attention to the determinants of CO₂ transfers embodied in electricity trade. In this study, we use both the absolute and comparative advantage theories to reveal the determinants of embodied CO₂ transfers through electricity trade within China. Results show that China's electricity sector has higher labor productivity but lower asset efficiency and energy productivity than that of mining and manufacturing sectors. The large-scale electricity trade alleviates the shortage of electricity supply in developed regions by outsourcing to the less-developed regions, reduces the unequal spatial distribution of coal and natural gas reserves, and changes CO₂ flow embodied in power grid. Econometric analysis shows that coal reserve contributes to the increase of embodied CO₂ emission, while natural gas reduces the embodied CO₂ emission. The regional differences in the opportunity cost of labor productivity of non-electricity sector are the dominant factor of the embodied CO₂ transfers through electricity trade within China, while asset efficiency and energy productivity are not significant in the regressions. Our findings could provide details about China's power grid expansion when confronting climate mitigation in the future.

Keywords: Absolute advantage; Comparative advantage; Electricity trade; Embodied CO(2) transfer; Spatial heterogeneity.

MeSH terms

Carbon / analysis
Carbon Dioxide* / analysis
China
Coal
Industry
Natural Gas*

Substances

Carbon Dioxide
Natural Gas
Coal
Carbon