The accounting method and application of CO2 emissions responsibility by the electricity sector at the provincial level in China

When accounting the CO₂ emissions responsibility of the electricity sector at the provincial level in China, it is of great significance to consider the scope of both producers’ and the consumers’ responsibility, since this will promote fairness in defining emission responsibility and enhance cooperation in emission reduction among provinces. This paper proposes a new method for calculating carbon emissions from the power sector at the provincial level based on the shared responsibility principle and taking into account interregional power exchange. This method can not only be used to account the emission responsibility shared by both the electricity production side and the consumption side, but it is also applicable for calculating the corresponding emission responsibility undertaken by those provinces with net electricity outflow and inflow. This method has been used to account for the carbon emissions responsibilities of the power sector at the provincial level in China since 2011. The empirical results indicate that compared with the production-based accounting method, the carbon emissions of major power-generation provinces in China calculated by the shared responsibility accounting method are reduced by at least 10%, but those of other power-consumption provinces are increased by 20% or more. Secondly, based on the principle of shared responsibility accounting, Inner Mongolia has the highest carbon emissions from the power sector while Hainan has the lowest. Thirdly, four provinces, including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hubei and Anhui, have the highest carbon emissions from net electricity outflow – 14 million t in 2011, accounting for 74.42% of total carbon emissions from net electricity outflow in China. Six provinces, including Hebei, Beijing, Guangdong, Liaoning, Shandong, and Jiangsu, have the highest carbon emissions from net electricity inflow – 11 million t in 2011, accounting for 71.44% of total carbon emissions from net electricity inflow in China. Lastly, this paper has estimated the emission factors of electricity consumption at the provincial level, which can avoid repeated calculations when accounting the emission responsibility of power consumption terminals (e.g. construction, automobile manufacturing and other industries). In addition, these emission factors can also be used to account the emission responsibilities of provincial power grids.