Zhu Yiwen, Zhang Yuhang, Zhang Yi, Zheng Bo
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Ecological Remediation and Carbon Sequestration, Institute of Environment and Ecology, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, Beijing, 100084, China.
Environ Sci Ecotechnol. 2025 Jul 12;27:100602. doi: 10.1016/j.ese.2025.100602. eCollection 2025 Sep.
Cities are central to global climate change mitigation efforts due to their substantial carbon emissions. Effective, evidence-based climate policy requires a detailed understanding of urban carbon metabolism, allowing for targeted mitigation pathways and the accurate evaluation of sustainability. However, a persistent lack of clarity on how carbon flows are distributed spatially and sectorally within cities has hindered tailored climate action, particularly in rapidly developing megacities. Here we map the shifting landscape of carbon emissions in Chinese megacities and show that accountability for these emissions has undergone a profound spatial and sectoral transformation. We found that the primary burden of emission responsibility has moved from production-focused sectors, such as industry and energy generation, to consumption-based end-users, including residential and commercial buildings. This transition is driven by a structural shift in accounting boundaries from direct fossil fuel combustion (Scope 1) to indirect emissions from electricity consumption (Scope 2), fundamentally redistributing carbon liability across urban districts. Our landscape-level framework reveals the hidden carbon dependencies of end-use sectors and provides a model for equitable and effective accounting, enabling the design of region-specific strategies to address the complexities of urban carbon emissions.
由于城市碳排放量大，它们在全球气候变化缓解努力中至关重要。有效的、基于证据的气候政策需要对城市碳代谢有详细了解，以便制定有针对性的缓解途径并准确评估可持续性。然而，对于碳流如何在城市内进行空间和部门分布，一直缺乏明确认识，这阻碍了量身定制的气候行动，特别是在快速发展的特大城市中。在此，我们绘制了中国特大城市碳排放格局的变化情况，并表明这些排放的责任归属经历了深刻的空间和部门转变。我们发现，排放责任的主要负担已从以生产为主的部门，如工业和能源生产，转移到基于消费的终端用户，包括住宅和商业建筑。这种转变是由核算边界从直接化石燃料燃烧（第1类）向电力消费间接排放（第2类）的结构性转变驱动的，从根本上重新分配了各城区的碳责任。我们的格局层面框架揭示了终端使用部门隐藏的碳依赖关系，并提供了一个公平有效核算的模型，能够设计针对特定区域的战略来应对城市碳排放的复杂性。
