Detecting and Understanding Synergies and Co-Benefits of Low Carbon Development in the Electric Power Industry in China

Ping Jiang, Adila Alimujiang, Hongjia Dong and Xiaoyu Yan
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Ping Jiang: Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan Tyndall Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Adila Alimujiang: Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan Tyndall Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Hongjia Dong: Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan Tyndall Center, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
Xiaoyu Yan: Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: China’s electric power industry contributes a significant amount of carbon emissions as well as air pollutants such as SO 2 , NO x , and fine particles. In order to detect co-benefits of carbon reduction and air pollution control, this study analyzed the emission reduction, emission reduction factors, and synergistic effect factors of technical and structural emission reduction measures in the electric power industry in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Yunnan provinces and Shanghai City. The main findings are: (1) the structural emission reduction measures in all four regions had positive co-control effects. Therefore, promoting renewables can achieve remarkable co-benefits; (2) the result demonstrated that the direct removal ability of pollutants by technical emission reduction measures was better than the structural emission reduction measures in all four case studies. However, there were no or few carbon reduction co-benefits associated with their utilization; (3) in all cases, CO 2 had the highest emission factor value, which means that there is still room for synergistic carbon reduction; (4) air pollutants and CO 2 emission intensity from the Yunnan power plants were much higher than that of the other three regions. In order to achieve the overall co-benefits, co-control measures should be promoted and strengthened in western areas such as Yunnan.

Keywords: low carbon development; co-benefits; power plants; emission control measures; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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