Electricity end-use and construction activity are key leverage points for co-controlling greenhouse gases and local pollution in China

• Published in: Climatic change 2021-07, Vol.167 (1-2), Article 19
• Main Authors: Liu, Li-Jing, Liang, Qiao-Mei, Creutzig, Felix, Cheng, Nan, Liu, Lan-Cui
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agriculture; Air pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Building materials; Climate change; Climate change mitigation; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Construction; Construction materials; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Economic conditions; Economics; Elasticity; Electricity; Electricity consumption; Emission analysis; Emissions; Emissions control; Environmental degradation; Farm buildings; Fertilizers; Gases; Global climate; Greenhouse effect; Greenhouse gases; Heavy metals; High resolution; Households; Housing; Industry; Investment; Land use; Mitigation; Pollutants; Prefabrication; Real estate; Research Article; Resolution; Solid wastes; Steel; Supply & demand; Three dimensional printing; Water pollution; Water quality
• ISSN: 0165-0009; 1573-1480
• DOI: 10.1007/s10584-021-03167-0

Greenhouse gas (GHG) and pollutant emissions are closely related to the economic structure. Most of the existing studies focused on single type of emissions and cannot provide guidance for co-controlling multiple emissions. Here, we provide an improved elasticity method based on input-output model that relates both supply and demand side at high resolution, evaluated for GHG emissions, local air pollution, solid waste, health, water quality, and economy-wide welfare metrics. The method allows to identify high-resolution structural adjustment intervention points that combine reduction in GHG emission and local environmental damage with stable performance in economy-wide welfare. Investigating the Chinese economy, our results show that key leverage points for simultaneously reducing GHG and local pollutants include electricity inputs of various industries, building materials inputs of housing construction, and fertilizer inputs of agriculture. Therefore, emerging political interventions include reducing the fertilizer use in agriculture, improving the electricity efficiency in raw chemical materials manufacturing and in the metal products industry, and saving inputs of steel, cement, and other building materials in construction, e.g., by transition to prefabricated or 3D printing construction. Urban households can reshape final demand by moderating electricity consumption and adjusting investments in real estate. Reduced export of low-value added steel and metal products would further improve environment and contribute to global climate change mitigation.