The Role of Industrial Parks in Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from China

This study uncovered the direct and
indirect energy-related greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions of 213 Chinese national-level industrial parks,
providing 11% of China’s gross domestic product, from a life-cycle
perspective. Direct emissions are sourced from fuel combustion, and
indirect emissions are embodied in energy production. The results
indicated that in 2015, the direct and indirect GHG emissions of the
parks were 1042 and 181 million tonne CO2 equiv, respectively,
totally accounting for 11% of national GHG emissions. The total energy
consumption of the parks accounted for 10% of national energy consumption.
Coal constituted 74% of total energy consumption in these parks. Baseline
and low-carbon scenarios are established for 2030, and five GHG mitigation
measures targeting energy consumption are modeled. The GHG mitigation
potential for these parks in 2030 is quantified as 111 million tonne,
equivalent to 9.1% of the parks’ total emission in 2015. The
measures that increase the share of natural gas consumption, reduce
the GHG emission factor of electricity grid, and improve the average
efficiency of industrial coal-fired boilers, will totally contribute
94% and 98% in direct and indirect GHG emissions reductions, respectively.
These findings will provide a solid foundation for the low carbon
development of Chinese industrial parks.