IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v49y2012icp751-758.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Embodied energy use in China's industrial sectors

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Zhu
  • Geng, Yong
  • Lindner, Soeren
  • Zhao, Hongyan
  • Fujita, Tsuyoshi
  • Guan, Dabo

Abstract

As the world’s top energy consumer, China is facing a great challenge to solve its energy supply issue. In this paper energy use from all industrial sectors in China’s economy of 2007 was explored by conducting an extended environmental input–output analysis. We compare the energy consumption embodied in the final demand for goods and services from 29 sectors with the energy demand required for the actual production process in each sector. Two different viewpoints for sectoral energy use have been presented: energy use is directly allocated to the producer entity, and energy use is reallocated to sector’s supply chain from consumption perspective. Our results show that considerable amount of energy use is embodied in the supply chain, especially for “Construction” and “Other Service Activities” sectors, which is not detected if energy use is allocated on a production basis. When further dividing embodied energy consumption into direct energy consumption and indirect energy consumption, total indirect energy consumption is much higher than that of total direct energy consumption, accounting for 80.6% of total embodied energy consumption in 2007. Our results provide a more holistic picture on sectoral energy consumption and therefore can help decision-makers make more appropriate policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Zhu & Geng, Yong & Lindner, Soeren & Zhao, Hongyan & Fujita, Tsuyoshi & Guan, Dabo, 2012. "Embodied energy use in China's industrial sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 751-758.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:49:y:2012:i:c:p:751-758
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.016
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421512005976
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.016?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guan, Dabo & Hubacek, Klaus, 2007. "Assessment of regional trade and virtual water flows in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 159-170, February.
    2. Weber, Christopher L. & Peters, Glen P. & Guan, Dabo & Hubacek, Klaus, 2008. "The contribution of Chinese exports to climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3572-3577, September.
    3. Bullard, Clark W. & Herendeen, Robert A., 1975. "The energy cost of goods and services," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 268-278, December.
    4. Zhang, Youguo, 2010. "Supply-side structural effect on carbon emissions in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 186-193, January.
    5. Chen, Qixin & Kang, Chongqing & Xia, Qing & Guan, Dabo, 2011. "Preliminary exploration on low-carbon technology roadmap of China’s power sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1500-1512.
    6. Chen, G.Q. & Zhang, Bo, 2010. "Greenhouse gas emissions in China 2007: Inventory and input-output analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 6180-6193, October.
    7. Polenske, Karen R. & McMichael, Francis C., 2002. "A Chinese cokemaking process-flow model for energy and environmental analyses," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(10), pages 865-883, August.
    8. Liu, Hong-Tao & Guo, Ju-E & Qian, Dong & Xi, You-Min, 2009. "Comprehensive evaluation of household indirect energy consumption and impacts of alternative energy policies in China by input-output analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3194-3204, August.
    9. Brown, M. T. & Herendeen, R. A., 1996. "Embodied energy analysis and EMERGY analysis: a comparative view," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 219-235, December.
    10. Price, Lynn & Wang, Xuejun & Yun, Jiang, 2010. "The challenge of reducing energy consumption of the Top-1000 largest industrial enterprises in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6485-6498, November.
    11. Peters, Glen P., 2008. "From production-based to consumption-based national emission inventories," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 13-23, March.
    12. World Bank, 2011. "World Development Indicators 2011," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2315.
    13. J. C. Minx & T. Wiedmann & R. Wood & G. P. Peters & M. Lenzen & A. Owen & K. Scott & J. Barrett & K. Hubacek & G. Baiocchi & A. Paul & E. Dawkins & J. Briggs & D. Guan & S. Suh & F. Ackerman, 2009. "Input-Output Analysis And Carbon Footprinting: An Overview Of Applications," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 187-216.
    14. Kahrl, Fredrich & Roland-Holst, David, 2008. "Energy and exports in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 649-658, December.
    15. Chang, Yuan & Ries, Robert J. & Wang, Yaowu, 2010. "The embodied energy and environmental emissions of construction projects in China: An economic input-output LCA model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 6597-6603, November.
    16. Feng, Kuishuang & Hubacek, Klaus & Guan, Dabo, 2009. "Lifestyles, technology and CO2 emissions in China: A regional comparative analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 145-154, November.
    17. Dabo Guan & Terry Barker, 2012. "Low-carbon development in the least developed region: a case study of Guangyuan, Sichuan province, southwest China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 62(2), pages 243-254, June.
    18. Leontief, Wassily, 1970. "Environmental Repercussions and the Economic Structure: An Input-Output Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 52(3), pages 262-271, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Weidong & Wu, Fangyong & Geng, Wenxin & Yu, Guanyi, 2017. "Carbon emissions in China’s industrial sectors," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 264-273.
    2. Fu, Feng & Liu, Hongtao & Polenske, Karen R. & Li, Zheng, 2013. "Measuring the energy consumption of China’s domestic investment from 1992 to 2007," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1267-1274.
    3. Zhang, L.X. & Wang, C.B. & Bahaj, A.S., 2014. "Carbon emissions by rural energy in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 641-649.
    4. Chen, G.Q. & Wu, X.F., 2017. "Energy overview for globalized world economy: Source, supply chain and sink," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 735-749.
    5. Lixiao Zhang & Qiuhong Hu & Fan Zhang, 2014. "Input-Output Modeling for Urban Energy Consumption in Beijing: Dynamics and Comparison," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(3), pages 1-11, March.
    6. Chen, G.Q. & Chen, Z.M., 2011. "Greenhouse gas emissions and natural resources use by the world economy: Ecological input–output modeling," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 222(14), pages 2362-2376.
    7. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2013. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: Competitive versus non-competitive imports," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 83-87.
    8. Misato Sato, 2014. "Embodied Carbon In Trade: A Survey Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 831-861, December.
    9. Meng, Jing & Liu, Junfeng & Guo, Shan & Huang, Ye & Tao, Shu, 2016. "The impact of domestic and foreign trade on energy-related PM emissions in Beijing," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 853-862.
    10. Ding, Tao & Ning, Yadong & Zhang, Yan, 2018. "The contribution of China’s bilateral trade to global carbon emissions in the context of globalization," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 78-88.
    11. Zhang, Zhonghua & Zhao, Yuhuan & Su, Bin & Zhang, Yongfeng & Wang, Song & Liu, Ya & Li, Hao, 2017. "Embodied carbon in China’s foreign trade: An online SCI-E and SSCI based literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 492-510.
    12. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W. & Low, Melissa, 2013. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade and the driving forces: Processing and normal exports," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 119-125.
    13. Zhang, Bo & Chen, Z.M. & Xia, X.H. & Xu, X.Y. & Chen, Y.B., 2013. "The impact of domestic trade on China's regional energy uses: A multi-regional input–output modeling," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1169-1181.
    14. Yang, Jin & Chen, Bin, 2014. "Carbon footprint estimation of Chinese economic sectors based on a three-tier model," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 499-507.
    15. Wu, X.F. & Chen, G.Q., 2017. "Global primary energy use associated with production, consumption and international trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 85-94.
    16. Yan, Junna & Zhao, Tao & Kang, Jidong, 2016. "Sensitivity analysis of technology and supply change for CO2 emission intensity of energy-intensive industries based on input–output model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 456-467.
    17. Guo, Ju’e & Zhang, Zengkai & Meng, Lei, 2012. "China’s provincial CO2 emissions embodied in international and interprovincial trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 486-497.
    18. Li, Yilin & Chen, Bin & Li, Chaohui & Li, Zhi & Chen, Guoqian, 2020. "Energy perspective of Sino-US trade imbalance in global supply chains," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    19. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2010. "Input-output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: The effects of spatial aggregation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 10-18, November.
    20. Wei Yang & Junnian Song, 2019. "Depicting Flows of Embodied Water Pollutant Discharge within Production System: Case of an Undeveloped Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-15, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:49:y:2012:i:c:p:751-758. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.