Urban carbon emissions associated with electricity consumption in Beijing and the driving factors

Abstract Cities are the main consumers of electricity, and the environmental impact of electricity use in cities has received increasing attention; however, relevant studies focus mainly on carbon emissions from urban power generation and urban direct electricity consumption, and carbon emissions induced by urban indirect electricity consumption are largely ignored. Using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon inventory method, the network approach and the environmentally extended multiregional input–output model, our study quantifies Beijing’s production-, supply- and consumption-based electricity-related carbon emissions in 2007–2015. Additionally, methods of decomposition analysis are used to assess the impacts of the driving factors. The results show the following: (1) In 2015, Beijing obtained 45.6 million tons and 38.9 million tons of net inflow of electricity-related carbon emissions through electricity trade and regional trade, respectively. (2) Beijing obtained a large amount of electricity-related carbon emissions by purchasing heavy industrial products from Hebei, while Beijing’s electricity-related carbon emissions flowing to Tianjin and Hebei consisted mainly of service industry products. (3) The fuel structure and energy efficiency contributed to the decline in Beijing’s production-based emissions. Interprovincial electricity transmission offset the growth of supply-based emissions in Beijing. Improved electricity efficiency and production technology helped reduce consumption-based emissions, and the consumption volume was the major driver of the growth in consumption-based emissions. This study not only enhances our understanding of the environmental impacts associated with urban electricity consumption but also provides a basis for cross-regional environmental responsibility allocation.