Search

Cities are usually the final destination for consumable goods and services produced along supply chains and the most appropriate scale to implement policy. Consumption-based policies could complement current carbon emissions mitigation actions, but such studies at the city level are relatively rare. We used a demand-driven input-output model to explore a historical time series (1987–2012) of consumption-based emissions in Tianjin for the first time, a typical industrial city which has the largest carbon footprint in China. The results reveal the differences between consumption- and production-based emissions, and Tianjin has transformed from a producer city into a typical consumer city since 2000s, mainly due to infrastructure construction. There is more capital investment in industrial infrastructures than in real estate in Tianjin, causing the largest carbon footprint. The trade deficit and different carbon intensity have substantial influences on consumption-based emissions. Finally, population, income, and urbanization could enable a more accurate interpretation of urban carbon footprint growth. Demand-driven policy implications for addressing these emissions in booming industrial cities are discussed and provide a new perspective on carbon emissions mitigation. Our results offer valuable lessons on industrial cities' strategies and initiatives for climate change mitigation worldwide, particularly in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dietary change presents an opportunity to meet the dual challenges of non-communicable diseases and the effects of climate change in China. Based on a food survey and reviewed data sets, we linked nutrient composition and carbon footprint data by aggregating 1950 types of foods into 28 groups. Nine dietary scenarios for both men and women were modeled based on the current diet and latest National Program for Food and Nutrition. Linear uncertainty optimization was used to produce diets meeting the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes for adults aged 18–50 years while minimizing carbon footprints. The theoretical optimal diet reduced daily footprints by 46%, but this diet was unrealistic due to limited food diversity. Constrained by acceptability, the optimal diet reduced the daily carbon footprints by 7–28%, from 3495 to 2517–3252 g CO 2 e, for men and by 5–26%, from 3075 to 2280–2917 g CO 2 e, for women. Dietary changes for adults are capable of benefiting China in terms of the considerable footprint reduction of 53–222 Mt. CO 2 e year − 1 , when magnified based on the Chinese population, which is the largest worldwide. Seven of eight scenarios showed that reductions in meat consumption resulted in greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, dramatic reductions in meat consumption may produce smaller reductions in emissions, as the consumption of other ingredients increases to compensate for the nutrients in meat. A trade-off between poultry and other meats (beef, pork, and lamb) is usually observed, and rice, which is a popular food in China, was the largest contributor to carbon footprint reductions. Our findings suggest that changing diets for climate change mitigation and human health is possible in China, though the per capital mitigation potential is slight lower than that in developed economies of France, Spain, Sweden, and New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]