Study on the measurement and the changing trend of the energy use of China’s economic sectors: based on cross-region input-output model

Wang, Feng; Gao, Changhai; Ou, Qi

doi:10.1007/s11356-020-10776-2

Research Article
Published: 22 September 2020

Study on the measurement and the changing trend of the energy use of China’s economic sectors: based on cross-region input-output model

Feng Wang¹,
Changhai Gao¹ &
Qi Ou²

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 28, pages 5296–5315 (2021)Cite this article

193 Accesses
1 Citations
Metrics details

Abstract

The consumption of fossil energy is the major cause of environmental pollution. Effectively reducing the fossil energy use has important significance for achieving China’s green development targets. The premise for reducing fossil energy use is accurately measuring the amount of energy use and identifying the key sectors and links of energy use of China’s economic sectors. This paper, by establishing a cross-region input-output model, measured the amount of energy use from the perspective of embodied energy, explored the changing trend of energy use between 2002 and 2015, and identified the key sectors and links of energy use. The results show that the embodied energy intensities of China’s economic sectors are generally higher than the world average level, but its changing trend is declining. Although the amount of energy use shows a growth trend, the growth rate manifests a decline process. The key sectors of energy use assemble in the resource sector and heavy industry sector. The key link is intermediate use, but about 80% of embodied energy of intermediate use has been used by downstream sectors. Approximately 76% of the embodied energy of final demand has been used by gross fixed capital formation and urban residents’ consumption. China has turned from a net exporter of embodied energy to a net importer since 2012. There is a resource mismatch in China’s import and export structure of embodied energy.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

The terms sector and industry have slightly different meanings. Sector as a broad classification describes a large segment of the economy, while industry as a more specific classification refers to a much more specific group of companies or businesses. In general, the scope of sector is larger than industry.
See the Eora multi-region input-output database at http://worldmrio.com/
The World Input-Output Table in Eora database contains the data of 26 economic sectors in 189 countries across the world including China.
The alphabet “I” stands for the industry, for example, I2 stands for industry 2 that is coal mining and washing; for the others, see Table 3 in the Appendix.

References

Andres RJ, Boden TA, Bréon F-M, Ciais P (2012) A synthesis of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel combustion. Biogeosciences 9:1845–1871. https://doi.org/10.5194/bgd-9-1299-2012
CAS Article Google Scholar
BP (British Petroleum). (2016) Statistical review of world energy. Available at https://www.bp.com/en/%20global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html. Accessed 26 June 2019
Bullard CW, Herendeen RA (1975) The energy cost of goods and services. Energy Policy 3:268–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-4215(75)90035-X
Article Google Scholar
Chen GQ, Han MY (2015) Global supply chain of arable land use: production-based and consumption-based trade imbalance. Land Use Policy 49:118–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.07.023
Article Google Scholar
Chen G, Wu X (2017) Energy overview for globalized world economy: source, supply chain and sink. Renew Sust Energ Rev 69:735–749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.151
CAS Article Google Scholar
Chen Z, Ni W, Xia L, Zhong Z (2019) Structural decomposition analysis of embodied carbon in trade in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:816–832. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3662-y
CAS Article Google Scholar
Costanza R (1980) Embodied energy and economic valuation. Science 210:1219–1224. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.210.4475.1219
CAS Article Google Scholar
Davis SJ, Caldeira K (2010) Consumption-based accounting of CO2 emissions. Proc Natl Acad Sci 107:5687–5692 http://www.pans.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pans.0906974
CAS Article Google Scholar
Gao ZY, Geng Y, Wu R, Zhang X, Pan HY, Jiang HJ (2020) China’s CO2 emissions embodied in fixed capital formation and its spatial distribution. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:19970–19990. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08491-z
CAS Article Google Scholar
Hue PT, Tuyet NTA (2020) Evaluation of energy intensity of transport service sectors in Vietnam. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07652-4
IEA (2018) World energy statistics and balances. Available at https://www.iea.org/statistics/?country=USA&year=2002&category=Key%20indicators&indicator=TPESbySource&mode=chart&categoryBrowse=false&dataTable=BALANCES&showDataTable=true. Accessed 12 May 2019
IPCC (2013) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1535 pp. Available at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/. Accessed 18 May 2019
Lenzen M, Dey C, Foran B (2004) Energy requirements of Sydney households. Ecol Econ 49:375–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2004.01.019
Article Google Scholar
Li Y, Chen B, Chen G, Meng J, Hayat T (2020) An embodied energy perspective of urban economy: a three-scale analysis for Beijing 2002–2012 with headquarter effect. Sci Total Environ 732:139097. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139097
CAS Article Google Scholar
Lin BQ, Sun CW (2010) Evaluating carbon dioxide emissions in international trade of China. Energy Policy 2010(38):613–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.10.014
CAS Article Google Scholar
Lin J, Hu Y, Zhao X, Shi L, Kang J (2017) Developing a city-centric global multiregional input-output model (CCG-MRIO) to evaluate urban carbon footprints. Energy Policy 108:460–466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.06.008
CAS Article Google Scholar
Liu Z, Geng Y, Lindner S, Zhao HY, Fujita T, Guan DB (2012) Embodied energy use in China’s industrial sectors. Energy Policy 49:751–758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.016
Article Google Scholar
Ma N, Li H, Tang R, Dong D, Shi J, Wang Z (2019) Structural analysis of indirect carbon emissions embodied in intermediate input between Chinese sectors: a complex network approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:17591–17607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05053-w
CAS Article Google Scholar
Meng J, Liu J, Guo S, Huang Y, Tao S (2016) The impact of domestic and foreign trade on energy-related PM emissions in Beijing. Appl Energy 184:853–862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.09.082
Article Google Scholar
NBSC (2016) China statistical yearbook. China Statistics Press, Beijing (In Chinese)
Google Scholar
NBSC (2018) Input-output tables of China 2015. China Statistics Press, Beijing (In Chinese)
Google Scholar
Nguyen QT, Trinh B, Ngo TL et al (2020) Analysis of bilateral input-output trading between Vietnam and China. J Asian Finan Econ Bus 7(6):157–172. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no6.157
Article Google Scholar
Quéréet L, Andres RJ, Boden T et al (2013) The global carbon budget 1959-2011. Earth Syst Sci 5:165–185. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-165-2013
Article Google Scholar
Su B, Ang B, Low M (2013) Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade and the driving forces: processing and normal exports. Ecol Econ 88:119–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.01.017
Article Google Scholar
Sun LC, Qin L (2020) Taghizadeh-Hesary Farhad, Zhang J. J., Mohsin Muhammad, Chaudhry Imran Sharif. Analyzing carbon emission transfer network structure among provinces in China: new evidence from social network analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:23281–23300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08911-0
CAS Article Google Scholar
Sun XD, Li JS, Qiao H, Zhang B (2017) Energy implications of China’s regional development: new insights from multi-regional input-output analysis. Appl Energy 196:118–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.12.088
Article Google Scholar
Tian Z, Fang D, Chen B (2020) Three-scale input-output analysis for energy and water consumption in urban agglomeration. J Clean Prod 122148:122148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122148
Article Google Scholar
WB (2012) Turn down the heat: Why a 4°Cwarmer world must be avoided. Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258260676_Turn_Down_the_Heat_Why_a_4C_Warmer_World_Must_Be_Avoided. Accessed 18 June 2019
Weber CL, Matthews HS (2007) Embodied environmental emissions in U.S. international trade, 1997-2004. Environ Sci Technol 41:4875–4881. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0629110
CAS Article Google Scholar
Weber CL, Peters GP, Guan D, Hubacek K (2008) The contribution of Chinese exports to climate change. Energy Policy 36:3572–3577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.06.009
Article Google Scholar
Weidmann T, Lenzen M, Turner K, Barratt J (2007) Examining the global environmental impact of regional consumption activities—part 2: review of input–output models for the assessment of environmental impacts embodied in trade. Ecol Econ 61:15–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.12.003
Article Google Scholar
Wu X, Chen G (2017) Energy use by Chinese economy: a systems cross-scale input-output analysis. Energy Policy 108:81–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.05.048
Article Google Scholar
Wu X, Chen G, Wu X, Yang Q, Alsaedi A, Hayat T (2015) Ahmad, B. Renewability and sustainability of biogas system: cosmic exergy based assessment for a case in China. Renew Sust Energ Rev 51:1509–1524. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.051
Article Google Scholar
Yang XY, Wang ZG, Zhang YB, Niu M (2020) Empirical study of China’s provincial carbon emission responsibility allotment: credit or penalty? Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10078-7
Zhai M, Huang G, Liu L, Su S (2018) Dynamic input-output analysis for energy metabolism system in the Province of Guangdong, China. J Clean Prod 196:747–762. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.084
Article Google Scholar
Zhang WC, Wei R, Peng SJ (2020) The oil-slick trade: An analysis of embodied crude oil in China’s trade and consumption. Energy Econ 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104763

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.

Availability of data

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article (and its supplementary information files).

Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 71673217).

Author information

Affiliations

School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China
Feng Wang & Changhai Gao
Ernst & Young (China) Advisory Limited Xi’an Branch, Xi’an, 710065, Shaanxi Province, People’s Republic of China
Qi Ou

Authors

Feng Wang
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Changhai Gao
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Qi Ou
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

FW conceived the research, and revised the manuscript. CG made the data processing and the analysis, and drafted the manuscript. QO edited and checked the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feng Wang.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues

Appendix

Table 3 The industries and the embodied energy intensities of domestic and foreign region from 2002 to 2015 (unit: tce/10k RMB)

Full size table

Table 4 The amount and the links of embodied energy use of China’s economic sectors from 2002 to 2015 (based on 2002) (unit: 1 billion tce)

Full size table

Table 5 The EUP, EEI, and total output of China’s economic sectors in 2015

Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, F., Gao, C. & Ou, Q. Study on the measurement and the changing trend of the energy use of China’s economic sectors: based on cross-region input-output model. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 5296–5315 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10776-2

Download citation

Received: 30 November 2019
Accepted: 08 September 2020
Published: 22 September 2020
Issue Date: February 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10776-2

Keywords

Embodied use
Embodied energy intensity
Economic sectors
Cross-region input-output model
Entire chain of energy use
Intermediate use

Abstract

Access options

Buy single article

Notes

References

Acknowledgments

Availability of data

Funding

Author information

Affiliations

Contributions

Corresponding author

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Consent for publication

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Appendix

Appendix

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Share this article

Keywords