A Structural Decomposition Analysis of China’s Consumption-Based Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The trends of consumption-based emissions in China have a major impact on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Previous studies have only focused on China’s energy-related consumption-based emissions of CO2 or specific non-CO2 GHGs without taking overall consumption-based non-CO2 GHG emissions into account. Based on a constructed global non-CO2 GHG emissions database, combined with CO2 emissions data, this paper fills this gap through an examination and analysis of China’s GHG emissions using a global multi-regional input–output (MRIO) model for 2004, 2007 and 2011, and identifies the major factors driving changes in consumption-based emissions through a structural decomposition analysis (SDA). The results show that compared with CO2 emissions, CH4, N2O and F-gases emissions all increased more rapidly. Among consumption-based non-CO2 GHG emissions, investment-based emissions experienced the fastest growth, but the net exports of non-CO2 GHG emissions dropped drastically in recent years. While investment in total final consumption demand is the most influential factor for CO2 emissions, household consumption most significantly affects the growth in consumption-based non-CO2 GHG emissions.