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CO 2 Emission Reduction Potential of Road Transport to Achieve Carbon Neutrality in China

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  • Jieshuang Dong

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Yiming Li

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Wenxiang Li

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, China)

  • Songze Liu

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, 516 Jungong Road, Shanghai 200093, China)

Abstract

Under the targets of peaking CO 2 emissions and carbon neutrality in China, it is a matter of urgency to reduce the CO 2 emissions of road transport. To explore the CO 2 emission reduction potential of road transport, this study proposes eight policy scenarios: the business-as-usual (BAU), clean electricity (CE), fuel economy improvement (FEI), shared autonomous vehicles (SAV), CO 2 emission trading (CET) (with low, medium, and high carbon prices), and comprehensive (CS) scenarios. The road transport CO 2 emissions from 2020 to 2060 in these scenarios are calculated based on the bottom-up method and are evaluated in the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP). The Log-Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method is employed to analyze the contribution of each factor to road transport CO 2 emission reduction in each scenario. The results show that CO 2 emissions of road transport will peak at 1419.5 million tonnes in 2033 under the BAU scenario. In contrast, the peaks of road transport CO 2 emissions in the CE, SAV, FEI, CET-LCP, CET-MCP, CET-HCP, and CS scenarios are decreasing and occur progressively earlier. Under the CS scenario with the greatest CO 2 emission reduction potential, CO 2 emissions of road transport will peak at 1200.37 million tonnes in 2023 and decrease to 217.73 million tonnes by 2060. Fuel structure and fuel economy contribute most to the emission reduction in all scenarios. This study provides possible pathways toward low-carbon road transport for the goal of carbon neutrality in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Jieshuang Dong & Yiming Li & Wenxiang Li & Songze Liu, 2022. "CO 2 Emission Reduction Potential of Road Transport to Achieve Carbon Neutrality in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5454-:d:807101
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    1. Yongsheng Cao & Yongquan Wang, 2022. "Smart Carbon Emission Scheduling for Electric Vehicles via Reinforcement Learning under Carbon Peak Target," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.

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