The Impact of Urbanization on the Relationship between Carbon Storage Supply and Demand in Mega-Urban Agglomerations and Response Measures: A Case of Yangtze River Delta Region, China

Yinan Yang, Jing Li, Li Wang, Zihao Wang, Yun Ling, Jialong Xu, Chenxin Yao, Yiyan Sun, Yuan Wang () and Lixia Zhao ()
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Yinan Yang: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Jing Li: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Li Wang: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Zihao Wang: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Yun Ling: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Jialong Xu: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Chenxin Yao: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Yiyan Sun: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Yuan Wang: School of Geography and Tourism, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241002, China
Lixia Zhao: East China Sea Ecological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), Shanghai 201206, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: Rapid urbanization in mega-urban agglomerations disturbs the balance of carbon storage supply and demand (CSD) and constrains the achievement of sustainable development goals. Here, we developed a socio-ecological system (SES) framework coupled with ecosystem services (ES) cascade and DPSIR model to systematically analyze the impacts and responses of urbanization affecting CSD. We quantified urbanization and CSD using multi-source remote sensing data, such as land use and night lighting, together with related socio-economic data, such as total energy consumption, population and GDP. We found that from 2000 to 2020, the urbanization of Yangtze River Delta region (YRD) led to a decrease of 2.75% in carbon storage supply and an increase of 226.45% in carbon storage demand. However, carbon storage supply was still larger than carbon storage demand, and the spatial mismatch of CSD is the most important problem at present. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the response measures from the comprehensive perspective of SES. We identified key ecological conservation areas using a Marxan model to protect the carbon storage capacity in ecological subsystems, and promoted a carbon compensation scheme based on both the grandfather principle and the carbon efficiency principle, reconciling the contradiction between ecological conservation and socio-economic development in the social subsystem. Finally, this study quantified the threshold of urbanization based on the carbon neutrality target at which CSD reaches an equilibrium state. This study proposed a SES framework, and a set of methodologies to quantify the relationship between urbanization and CSD, which will help mega-urban agglomerations to promote harmonious development of urbanization and ecological conservation and to achieve the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets proposed by the Chinese government.

Keywords: YRD; urbanization; CSD; response measures (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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