Reducing Carbon Emissions from Shopping Trips: Evidence from China

Jing Li, Pingyu Zhang, Kevin Lo, Meng Guo and Mark Wang
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Jing Li: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, Jilin, China
Pingyu Zhang: Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, Jilin, China
Kevin Lo: Department of Geography, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China
Meng Guo: School of Geographical Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, Jilin, China
Mark Wang: School of Geography, the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: With rising income and the emergence of modern shopping centers in urban China, shopping trips by private car becomes more and more common, leading to higher carbon emissions in the transport sector. Encouraging car owners to shift transport mode from private car to public transport could achieve significant emissions reductions. This study estimate carbon emissions savings by shifting from private cars to public transport for shopping trips in urban China, using Shenyang, one of the largest cities in China, as a case study. Our results show that the average carbon emissions per shopper is 426.9 g, and the carbon emissions on weekends is 13% higher than weekdays. Moreover, shoppers travelling by private car emitted five times more carbon emission than those by public transport. We also found that car ownership gradually increased as accessibility to public transport decreased, and that more car owners chose to travel by private cars than public transport in areas with limited access. This study, thus, highlights the potential for high-quality public transport to reduce the transport sector’s carbon emissions in urban China.

Keywords: transport; carbon emissions; travel mode; shopping; urban; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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