Performance analysis of CO(2) emissions and energy efficiency of metal industries in China.
Nonferrous metal industries play an important role in China's national economy and are some of the country's largest energy consumers. To better understand the nature of CO(2) emissions from these industries and to further move towards low-carbon development in this industry sector, this study investigates the CO(2) emissions of 12 nonferrous metal industries from 2003 to 2010 based on their life-cycle assessments. It then classifies these industries into four "emission-efficiency" types through cluster analysis. The results show that (1) the industrial economy and energy consumption of China's nonferrous metal industries have grown rapidly, although their recent energy consumption rate shows a declining trend. (2) The copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, and magnesium industries, classified as high-emission industries, are the main contributors of CO(2) emissions. The results have implications for policy decisions that aim to enhance energy efficiency, particularly for promoting the transformation of low-efficiency industries to high-efficiency ones. The study also highlights the important role of policy development in technological innovations, optimization, and upgrades, the reduction of coal proportion in energy consumption, and the advancement of new energy sources.
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, China. Electronic address: shaocf@nankai.edu.cn.
Chaofeng
C
Shao
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, China.
Yang
Y
Guan
College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China.
Zheng
Z
Wan
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, China.
Chunli
C
Chu
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, 94 Weijin Road, Nankai District, Tianjin 300071, China.
Meiting
M
Ju
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007221:Industry; D008670:Metals
D000393:Air Pollutants; D008670:Metals; D002245:Carbon Dioxide
CO(2) emission; Cluster analysis; Energy efficiency; Nonferrous metal industries