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Policies and Practices of Low Carbon City Development in China

Author

Listed:
  • Can Wang
  • Jie Lin
  • Wenjia Cai
  • ZhongXiang Zhang
Abstract
Globally as well as in China, cities have contributed to most of economic output and have accordingly given rise to most of CO2 emissions. In particular, given unprecedented urbanization, cities will play an even greater role in shaping energy demand and CO2 emissions. Therefore, cities are the key to meeting its proposed carbon intensity target in 2020 and whatever climate commitments beyond 2020 that China may take. Given the paramount importance of cities, China is practicing low carbon city (LCC) development. Against this background, this paper first summarizes the general situation and main characteristics of China's LCC development. The paper then indentifies eight problems and challenges for China's LCC development including the absence of sound carbon accounting systems, lack of low-carbon specific evaluation system, rare use of market-based instruments, insufficient government-enterprise interactions, excessive budget dependence on land concession, increasing difficulty in further carbon mitigation, inevitable emissions growth due to rising living standards, and coal-dominant energy structure in the foreseeable future. Since these challenges are not applied to one or few cities, but are to all cities across the country, finally, the paper discusses how governments, in particular the central government, should address these problems and challenges. Given that China has faced great difficulty ensuring that local governments act in accordance with centrally-directed policies, the paper in particular discusses ways to incentivize local governments not to focus on economic growth alone and to move away from a heavy reliance on land concession. The paper ends with emphasizing on putting a price on carbon a crucial step for China's endeavor of harnessing the market forces to reduce its energy consumption and carbon emissions and genuinely transiting into a low-carbon economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Can Wang & Jie Lin & Wenjia Cai & ZhongXiang Zhang, 2013. "Policies and Practices of Low Carbon City Development in China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 24(7-8), pages 1347-1372, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:24:y:2013:i:7-8:p:1347-1372
    DOI: 10.1260/0958-305X.24.7-8.1347
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhang, ZhongXiang, "undated". "Making China the transition to a low-carbon economy: Key challenges and responses," Working Papers 249516, Australian National University, Centre for Climate Economics & Policy.
    3. Garfield Wayne Hunter & Gideon Sagoe & Daniele Vettorato & Ding Jiayu, 2019. "Sustainability of Low Carbon City Initiatives in China: A Comprehensive Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-37, August.
    4. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2017. "Are China's climate commitments in a post‐Paris agreement sufficiently ambitious?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(2), March.
    5. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2015. "Crossing the river by feeling the stones: the case of carbon trading in China," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 17(2), pages 263-297, April.
    6. Liu, Wenling & Zhang, Jinyun & Bluemling, Bettina & Mol, Arthur P.J. & Wang, Can, 2015. "Public participation in energy saving retrofitting of residential buildings in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 287-296.
    7. He Zhang & Jingyi Peng & Dahlia Yu & Lie You & Rui Wang, 2021. "Carbon Emission Governance Zones at the County Level to Promote Sustainable Development," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-20, February.
    8. ZhongXiang Zhang, 2016. "Making the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: The Key Challenges for China," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 3(2), pages 187-202, May.
    9. Zhengkun Yang & Xuesong Zhang & Xiurong Hu & Xiaowen Zhou, 2024. "Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Agricultural Carbon Balance at Township Scale and Carbon Compensation Zoning: A Case Study of Guangshui City, Hubei Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-29, June.
    10. Xi Xie & Wenjia Cai & Yongkai Jiang & Weihua Zeng, 2015. "Carbon Footprints and Embodied Carbon Flows Analysis for China’s Eight Regions: A New Perspective for Mitigation Solutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Huang, Jingchang & Cao, June & Hasan, Tahseen & Zhao, Jing, 2021. "Low-carbon city initiatives and firm risk: A quasi-natural experiment in China," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    12. Wang, Can & Lin, Jie & Cai, Wenjia & Liao, Hua, 2014. "China׳s carbon mitigation strategies: Enough?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 47-56.
    13. Shihong Guo & Qijiao Song & Ye Qi, 2021. "Innovation or implementation? Local response to low‐carbon policy experimentation in China," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 38(5), pages 555-569, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Policies; Practices; Low carbon city; Market-based instruments; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations

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