Defining provincial responsibility for controlling transportation CO2 emissions in China: As fairness perspective

Abstract

Transportation CO₂ emissions (TCE) in China account for a high proportion and are growing rapidly, making this sector likely one of the last to achieve carbon peaking nationally. However, directly comparing absolute TCE values to measure the responsibility of TCE control targets for each province in future years would be unfair due to substantial disparities between provinces in population, affluence, and technology characteristics. To address this issue, this study establishes an equitable and efficient framework to help policymakers determine province-specific and year-specific TCE benchmark and policy values. The results show that the less developed regions face greater challenges in controlling TCE per unit of GDP, and they should focus more on the use of shifting and improvement measures to reduce TCE. In contrast, the developed provinces bear a higher responsibility for TCE control in the near future; thereby, they need to implement an appropriate combination of measures.