China has achieved notable success in developing its economy with approximate\r\n10 percent average annual GDP growth over the last two decades. At the same time, energy\r\nconsumption and CO2 emissions almost doubled every five years, which led China to be\r\nthe world top emitter in 2007. In response, Chinaââ?¬â?¢s government has put forward a carbon\r\nmitigation target of 40%ââ?¬â??45% reduction of CO2 emission intensity by 2020. To better\r\nunderstand the potential for success or failure of such a policy, it is essential to assess\r\ndifferent driving forces such as population, lifestyle and technology and their associated\r\nCO2 emissions. This study confirms that increase of affluence has been the main driving\r\nforce for Chinaââ?¬â?¢s CO2 emissions since the late 1970s, which outweighs reductions achieved\r\nthrough technical progress. Meanwhile, the contribution of population growth to CO2\r\nemissions was relatively small. We also found a huge disparity between urban and rural\r\nhouseholds in terms of changes of lifestyle and consumption patterns. Lifestyles in urban\r\nChina are beginning to resemble Western lifestyles, and approaching their level of CO2\r\nemissions. Therefore, in addition to the apparent inefficiencies in terms of production\r\ntechnologies there is also a lot of room for improvement on the consumption side especially\r\nin interaction of current infrastructure investments and future consumption.
Loading....