In 2019,
China's exported
about $2.5 trillion
worth of goods.
Those exports
also produces
a lot of CO2
emissions and
air pollution.
The 1.4 billion
people lead
the world in
greenhouse
gas emissions.
Researchers at the
University of Michigan
examined the links
between China's exports
and its CO2 emissions.
They traced the carbon
footprint of Chinese-made
products consumed
overseas.
Their data, in the journal
Nature Communications,
showed that 75%
of the export-linked
CO2 emissions come from
coastal manufacturing hubs,
accounting for less than
1% of China's land area.
Study co-author Shen Qu,
a postdoctoral fellow at
Michigan's School for
Environment and Sustainability,
said in a news release:
"The carbon footprint hotspots
identified in this study
are the key places to focus on
collaborative mitigation efforts
between China and the
downstream parties
that drive those emissions."
Scientists were able to map
foreign-linked CO2 emissions
at a spatial resolution
of six miles by six miles,
allowing the research team
to pinpoint specific cities
and industrial centers.
Manufacturing hubs
were near important ports,
including the Shanghai
shipping outpost along
the Yangtze River Delta,
and several industrial centers
along the Pearl River Delta
in northern China.
Exports to the United States,
Hong Kong and Japan
were responsible for the
largest share of Chinese
foreign-linked CO2 emissions.
Household consumer goods
accounted for roughly half
of the carbon footprint
linked to Chinese exports
to the United States.
42% of China's foreign-linked
CO2 emissions are caused
by the electricity needed
to produce popular exports,
with much of China's electricity
still provided by coal-fired
power plants.
Study co-author Ming Xu,
an associate professor
at SEAS, said:
"Given the
increasing importance
of non-state actors
-- provinces, states,
cities and companies --
in climate mitigation,
it becomes increasingly
important to be able to
explicitly link
the final consumers
of products to the
sub-national actors
that have direct control
over greenhouse
gas emissions."