Study on embodied CO2 transfer between the Jing-Jin-Ji region and other regions in China: a quantification using an interregional input-output model

Jing-Jin-Ji region (i.e., Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei) is China's key development region, but it is also the leading and most serious air pollution region in China. High fossil fuel consumption is the major source of both carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and air pollutants. Therefore, it is important to reveal the source of CO2 emissions to control the air pollution in the Jing-Jin-Ji region. In this study, an interregional input-output model was applied to quantitatively estimate the embodied CO2 transfer between Jing-Jin-Ji region and other region in China using China's interregional input-output data in 2010. The results indicated that there was a significant difference in the production-based CO2 emissions in China, and furthermore, the Jing-Jin-Ji region and its surrounding regions were the main regions of the production-based CO2 emissions in China. Hebei Province exported a large amount of embodied CO2 to meet the investment, consumption, and export demands of Beijing and Tianjin. The Jing-Jin-Ji regions exported a great deal of embodied CO2 to the coastal provinces of southeast China and imported it from neighboring provinces.