Study on Embodied CO2 Emissions and Transfer Pathways of Chinese Industries

Industries with low direct CO2 emissions downstream in the industry chain have significant carbon emissions upstream, which is similar to how carbon leakage in interprovincial regions and international commerce affects these regions. Due to the interchange and transit of goods, there are intermediate production and consumption processes across industrial sectors. The CO2 emissions produced by each sector are insufficient to satisfy the sector’s ultimate demand. It will also move along with the industrial chain. Investigating embodied carbon transfer across industrial sectors is crucial to strike a balance between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. Locating the key sectors to reduce carbon emissions provides a basis for formulating resource conservation and environmental protection policies. In this study, the industrial sector divides into 24 subsectors, and the embodied CO2 emissions and carbon transfer pathways of each are examined from the viewpoint of the industrial chain using the Economic Input–Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) and the Hypothetical Extraction Method (HEM). The indirect CO2 emissions downstream of the industrial chain are higher than the direct carbon dioxide emissions, and the intersectoral carbon transfer constitutes a significant part of the total carbon emissions of the industrial sector. The upstream sector of the industry chain has a significantly higher direct carbon emission intensity than the indirect CO2 emission intensity, while the downstream sector is the opposite. The production and supply of electricity, gas and water, and raw material industries transfer significant CO2 to other sectors. The manufacturing industry is mainly the inflow of CO2. CO2 flows from the mining industry to the raw material industry and from the raw material industry to the manufacturing industry constitute the critical pathway of carbon transfer between industries. A study on the embodied carbon emissions and transfer paths of various industrial sectors is conducive to clarifying the emission reduction responsibilities and providing a basis for synergistic emission reduction strategies.