Grey relation analysis of economics, energy consumption and environment in China

摘要

The rapid growth of the economy has brought great benefits to Chinese socio-economic levels during the past several decades. However, it also increases the risk of energy security and environmental problems. This paper explores the inter-relationships among economy, energy consumption and CO2 emission in China in order to provide sustainable development policy making. Grey relation analysis was used to analyze the productivity, energy consumption in relation to CO2 emission changes. Results indicate that the total energy consumption has more significant influence than the economic growth on CO2 emission increase in China, and that a rapid increase in electricity consumption during the past 10 years is another main factor for CO2 emission increase. The largest CO2 emitting sectors include industry, transportation, and buildings. Therefore, it is important to decouple the energy consumption, improve energy efficiency to reduce the impacts of CO2 emission on sustainable development. Governmental policies should be directed towards adjustment of energy structure, low carbon fuels as well as towards enhancement of the demand side management mechanism.