Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, PR China; Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, PR China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
Civil and Resource Engineering School, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, PR China.
J Environ Manage. 2020 May 15;262:110250. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110250. Epub 2020 Feb 20.
Given the aim of maintaining global warming below 2 °C, carbon emission reduction has become a global top priority. Since the Belt and Road Initiative has increasing influence on manufacturing-oriented developing countries, more attention should be paid to carbon emission reduction in these regions. This study conducts a comprehensive analysis by analyzing the carbon inequality and regional development and compares the carbon emissions driven by final demand among countries in and outside the Belt and Road area from 1990 to 2015. It is found that the majority of the Belt and Road regions achieved a rapid GDP growth rate with increasing carbon emissions, in which the investment-driven type demonstrated a significant growth. In contrast, the developed countries outside the Belt and Road area maintained their economic growth while decreasing the carbon emissions owed to the declining of investment-driven emissions; however the consumption-driven emissions stably remained a relatively high level. Our results showed that the inequality of carbon emission within Belt and Road regions is lower than the global average, while the inequality of the investment-driven emissions showed an obviously increasing trend. By discussing the carbon inequality and regional development, rational and feasible strategies for countries and regions within and outside the Belt and Road area are essential, and different types of strategies such as low-carbon technologies transfers and overseas financial cooperation are suggested for regional carbon emission reduction and sustainable regional development under the Belt and Road Initiative.
鉴于将全球变暖控制在 2°C 以下的目标，减少碳排放已成为全球首要任务。由于“一带一路”倡议对制造业为主的发展中国家的影响力不断增强，这些地区的碳排放问题应得到更多关注。本研究通过分析碳不平等和区域发展，对“一带一路”沿线和非沿线国家的最终需求驱动的碳排放量进行了全面分析。研究结果表明，大多数“一带一路”地区实现了 GDP 的快速增长和碳排放的增加，其中投资驱动型增长显著。相比之下，“一带一路”以外的发达地区在保持经济增长的同时，降低了投资驱动型碳排放；然而，消费驱动型碳排放仍保持在相对较高的水平。本研究还发现，“一带一路”地区内部的碳排放不平等程度低于全球平均水平，而投资驱动型碳排放的不平等程度呈明显上升趋势。通过讨论碳不平等和区域发展，为“一带一路”沿线和非沿线国家和地区制定合理可行的策略至关重要。建议采取低碳技术转让和海外金融合作等不同类型的策略，以实现“一带一路”倡议下的区域减排和可持续区域发展。
