Impact Measurement of COVID-19 Lockdown on China’s Electricity-Carbon Nexus

Mingyue Zhao, Yuqing Niu, Lei Tian, Yizhi Liu and Qiang Zhai
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Mingyue Zhao: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electrical & Information Engineering, Shandong University (Weihai), Weihai 264209, China
Yuqing Niu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electrical & Information Engineering, Shandong University (Weihai), Weihai 264209, China
Lei Tian: Medical Examination Center, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China
Yizhi Liu: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electrical & Information Engineering, Shandong University (Weihai), Weihai 264209, China
Qiang Zhai: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical, Electrical & Information Engineering, Shandong University (Weihai), Weihai 264209, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: Lockdown measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in the plummeting of China’s overall electric-power demand and production. To date, power generation remains one of the largest carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emitting sectors of China on account of its high carbon intensity. Within this context, our study seeks to measure the impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on the electricity-power related carbon footprints on both generation and consumption sides. Built on statistical data of electricity generation and consumption released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC), we calculate he nationwide electricity related CO 2 emission changes in regional, economic-sectoral and technological dimensions during January–April 2020, when the strictest lock-down measures were taken in China and compare the results with the same months of the year prior. Our results show that both east and central China power grids witnessed drastic reduction (15.0% and 13.8%) in electricity-generation caused CO 2 emissions; and the biggest falls of provincial-scale electricity-generation CO 2 emission took place in Hubei (27.3%). Among China’s electricity production mix, coal remains the biggest CO 2 emitter and contributed 95.7% of the overall nationwide reduction. The most significant decline of the nationwide consumptive-electricity carbon footprint was by 10.1% in February, with the secondary economic sector the biggest contributor.

Keywords: COVID-19; lockdown; electricity; carbon; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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