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Scientific Article details

Title Energy consumption patterns in the process of China's urbanization
ID_Doc 24694
Authors Zhou, WJ; Zhu, B; Chen, DJ; Griffy-Brown, C; Ma, YY; Fei, WY
Title Energy consumption patterns in the process of China's urbanization
Year 2012
Published Population And Environment, 33, 2-3
DOI 10.1007/s11111-011-0133-5
Abstract Urbanization has transformed daily lives and industrial production in China. We investigate the effects of this process on Chinese energy consumption patterns. Three energy-consuming sectors intricately associated with urbanization are identified and analyzed: residential households, transportation, and the building materials industry. Urbanization has profoundly affected each; moreover, the latter two are high energy consumption and potentially high carbon producing. We estimate energy consumption attributable to each sector to quantitatively evaluate their impacts on societal transition. Transportation and the production of building materials are identified as the most significant linkages from urbanization to energy consumption. Strikingly, despite the large increase in the proportion of the population that is urban, the share of urban energy consumption, as estimated here, in total energy consumption has remained stable. This suggests that economic growth, in the form of the production of goods for export and domestic consumption, is the most important driver of energy demand in China.
Author Keywords Urbanization; Energy consumption; Circular economy; Low carbon economy; China
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Social Science Citation Index (SSCI)
EID WOS:000304167400006
WoS Category Demography; Environmental Studies
Research Area Demography; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
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