China’s inter-regional embodied carbon emissions: An industrial transfer perspective

In the context of internal circulation, domestic trade is widely encouraged in China. However, the growth of inter-provincial trade may aggravate inter-regional embodied carbon emissions transfer. The knowledge about the causes of changes in embodied carbon emissions from an industry transfer perspective is limited, which is significant for achieving the regional carbon emission reduction fairly and reasonably. Therefore, this paper utilizes the provincial energy consumption data and the multi-region input–output tables in 2002 and 2012 to calculate the embodied carbon transfer among different regions. Furthermore, the inter-regional embodied carbon emissions transfer trends are analyzed and discussed by the quantitative measurement of industries transfer. The results indicated that nearly 58% of carbon emissions were transferred out from the southeast coastal areas to the central and western areas by importing carbon-intensive productions, reaching 516 million tons. In addition, the carbon intensity in the eastern areas decreased by about 30%, while that increased by 11% in the central and western areas. Energy inequality among regions was getting worse. To promote inter-regional development equity, the emission reduction targets of different regions should be heterogeneous. Specifically, the southeast coastal areas are suggeted to compensate for the transfer-out emissions. The central and western areas are suggested to develop markets for renewable energy topromote the economy and adjust energy structure.