Understanding the industrial NOx and SO2 pollutant emissions in China from sector linkage perspective

Since the most stringent-ever clean air policy was implemented in 2013 in China, main industrial air pollutant emissions have notably decreased. However, there are fewstudies on air pollutant emissions of industrial sectors driven by supply chain before and after implementing this policy. This paper attempts to provide a new perspective from industrial linkage to understand the emission of air pollutants. Based on Input-Output model framework, we revealed the linkages of SO2 and NOx emissions between sectors from 2012 to 2017 and the driving forces behindemission changes. Moreover, we simulated the possible impact of the key sector linkages on air pollutant emissions. Results showthat the most noteworthy change during this period is that the metal melting sector has replaced the power sector, as the largest pollutant output emission sector associated with other sectors, especially the transport equipment sector. The main reason of this phenomena is that the emission intensity reduction rate of metal smelting sector (e.g., only 17% for NOx) is far less than other sectors. In the future, the development of the equipment manufacturing may put pressure on the metal smelting sector to reduce emissions. For example, when the transport equipment sector increases total output by 20% similar to 40%, themetal smelting sector will be driven to emit 0.04Mt similar to 0.08Mt of NOx. This paper provides a basis to quantitatively analyze the industrial sector linkages and identify the key sectors from 2012-2017, and helps decision makers better understand the impact of sector linkage on pollutant emissions. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study utilized an Input-Output model framework to analyze the SO2 and NOx emissions of industrial sectors in China from 2012 to 2017. It found that the metal melting sector replaced the power sector as the largest emitter, mainly due to its lower emission intensity reduction rate. In the future, the development of the equipment manufacturing sector may further increase emission pressure on the metal smelting sector.