Low-carbon development pathways for resource-based cities in China under the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals.

Resource-based cities are important strategic bases for securing resources in China and have made great contributions to the country's economic development. Long-term extensive resource development has made resource-based cities an important region constraining China from achieving comprehensive low-carbon development. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the low-carbon transition path of resource-based cities for their energy greening, industrial transformation, and high-quality economic development. This study compiled the CO emission inventory of resource-based cities in China from 2005 to 2017, explored the contribution to CO emissions from three perspectives (driver, industry, and city), and predicted the peak of CO emissions in resource-based cities. The results show that resource-based cities contribute 18.4% of the country's GDP and emit 44.4% of the country's CO and that economic growth and CO emissions have not yet been decoupled. The per capita CO emissions and emission intensity of resource-based cities are 1.8 times and 2.4 times higher than the national average, respectively. Economic growth and energy intensity are the biggest drivers and main inhibitors of CO emissions growth. Industrial restructuring has become the biggest inhibitor of CO emissions growth. Based on the different resource endowments, industrial structures, and socio-economic development levels of resource-based cities, we propose differentiated low-carbon transition pathways. This study can provide references for cities to develop differentiated low-carbon development paths under the "double carbon" target.