Matching degree of embodied carbon trade and value-added trade among Chinese provinces (regions)

This paper constructs a matching index model to research the matching degree of embodied carbon trade and value-added trade among eight regions and 31 provinces in China in 2012 and 2015. The study finds that (1) At the regional level, a mismatch is shown between embodied carbon trade and value-added trade among regions, for example, in 2015, the northwest region has output embodied carbon to the north coast, while input the value-added trades from the north coast. (2) At the provincial level, a mismatch is displayed between embodied carbon transaction and value-added trade, for example, Beijing had a net shift of embodied carbon from Xinjiang in 2015, but Xinjiang had a net transfer of added value from Beijing. Therefore, the Chinese government needs to establish an ecological compensation mechanism to improve the mismatch between embodied carbon trade and value-added trade among Chinese regions (provinces).

Automated summary

This study reveals a mismatch between embodied carbon trade and value-added trade among different regions and provinces in China in 2012 and 2015. At the regional level, there is a discrepancy between the two trades, such as the northwest region exporting embodied carbon to the north coast but importing value-added trades from the same region. At the provincial level, Beijing had a net shift of embodied carbon from Xinjiang in 2015, while Xinjiang had a net transfer of added value from Beijing. The Chinese government needs to establish an ecological compensation mechanism to address this mismatch.