Carbon dioxide emissions from cities in China based on high resolution emission gridded data

Based on the China high resolution emission gridded data (1 km spatial resolution), this article is aimed to create a Chinese city carbon dioxide (CO2) emission data set using consolidated data sources as well as normalized and standardized data processing methods. Standard methods were used to calculate city CO2 emissions, including scope 1 and scope 2. Cities with higher CO2 emissions are mostly in north, northeast, and eastern coastal areas. Cities with lower CO2 emissions are in the western region. Cites with higher CO2 emissions are clustered in the Jing-Jin-Ji Region (such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Tangshan), and the Yangtze River Delta region (such as Shanghai and Suzhou). The city per capita CO2 emission is larger in the north than the south. There are obvious aggregations of cities with high per capita CO2 emission in the north. Four cities among the top 10 per capita emissions (Erdos, Wuhai, Shizuishan, and Yinchuan) cluster in the main coal production areas of northern China. This indicates the significant impact of coal resources endowment on city industry and CO2 emissions. The majority (77%) of cities have annual CO2 emissions below 50 million tons. The mean annual emission, among all cities, is 37 million tons. Emissions from service-based cities, which include the smallest number of cities, are the highest. Industrial cities are the largest category and the emission distribution from these cities is close to the normal distribution. Emissions and degree of dispersion, in the other cities (excluding industrial cities and service-based cities), are in the lowest level. Per capita CO2 emissions in these cities are generally below 20 t/person (89%) with a mean value of 11 t/person. The distribution interval of per capita CO2 emission within industrial cities is the largest among the three city categories. This indicates greater differences among per capita CO2 emissions of industrial cities. The distribution interval of per capita CO2 emission of other cities is the lowest, indicating smaller differences of per capita CO2 emissions among this city category. Three policy suggestions are proposed: first, city CO2 emission inventory data in China should be increased, especially for prefecture level cities. Second, city responsibility for emission reduction, and partitioning the national goal should be established, using a bottom-up approach based on specific CO2 emission levels and potential for emission reductions in each city. Third, comparative and benchmarking research on city CO2 emissions should be conducted, and a Top Runner system of city CO2 emission reduction should be established.