Research On The Consumption-based Carbon Emissions And The Inequality With Economic Benefits Embodied In China’s Interprovincial Trade

China has a vast territory,and there are big differences in GDP,population density,industrial structure,and lifestyles of residents in various provinces.Through inter-regional trade,provinces meet the needs of economic development and consumption.But inter-regional trade not only generates flows of goods and services,it also leads to carbon transfers.In the face of environmental damage caused by economic growth,provinces should choose to slow down their economic development for the environment or should choose economic development at the expense of the environment.The inequality between regional economy and environment become an important issue that provinces need to consider.Therefore,this paper quantified the carbon emissions and value added flow of trade between 30 provinces and 27 industries in China in 2012.This paper based on the Environmental Expansion Multi-Regional Input-Output model(EEMRIO),and studied the transfers inter-provinces and inter-industries in the context of regional trade.It also proposed a carbon-neutral-oriented carbon emission reduction model suitable for all provinces.At the same time,this paper also uses the AEI index(aggregate embodied intensity)to calculate the carbon emissions caused by the unit economic value added of each province.This paper not only conducts research at the provincial level,but also analyzes the differences in carbon emissions and value added of inter-provincial trade from the industry level.In addition,the Carbon Emissions-Value Added Inequity(CVI)index was proposed to evaluate the inequality of carbon emissions and value added in domestic trade from the provincial and industry levels.The results show that the carbon emissions from local consumption are greater than imported carbon emissions in 23 provinces.Hubei has the largest proportion of carbon emissions from local consumption(83%),and carbon emissions from other regions are greater than carbon emissions from local consumption in 7 provinces(Beijing is 86%).Capital formation is the largest contributor to carbon emissions,accounting for an average of 64%.Urban household consumption contributes an average of 21% to carbon emissions.The average contribution of government consumption and rural household consumption to carbon emissions is 8% and 7%,respectively.Richer provinces export more "manufacturing" and "other industries" products,while natural resource-rich regions mainly export "energy production and supply industry" products.The "energy production and supply industry" produced the largest carbon emissions but the least value added in trade,accounting for 48% and2.95% of the whole country’s total carbon emissions and total value added,respectively.The carbon emissions and value added caused by regional trade are quite differences inter-industries and inter-region.More developed regions outsource carbon emissions to other regions,and at the same time get more economic benefits.While provinces suffering from inequality not only have a net inflow of carbon emissions,but also net economic benefits have flowed to other regions;Combining the source of carbon emissions and the direction of net carbon transfer,China’s 30 provinces can be divided into four types: import-import regions,import-export regions,local consumption-export regions,and local consumption-import regions.And different regions should adopt different emission reduction models.Provinces with higher AEI are underdeveloped regions in western China,while the AEI of developed regions is relatively low.The development of industries with higher AEI will increase regional economic growth,but will also lead to environmental degradation.The CVI of developed provinces is relatively small,indicating that these regions receive more economic benefits relative to carbon emissions.The underdeveloped regions with higher CVI usually bear greater pressure relative to the economic benefits by domestic trade.Therefore,the carbon emissions and value added of each region and industry are quite different.This study aims to clarify the responsibility of each province’s carbon emissions and provide direction for the emission reduction policies of each province and industry.For a province,in order to achieve low-carbon development and obtain considerable economic benefits at the same time,products from industries with high CVI should be imported from other regions,while products from industries with low CVI should be exported more.The results of this paper will help to understand the impact of trade on carbon emissions.At the same time promote the reasonable allocation of emission reduction responsibilities and the realization of carbon emission reduction targets.This paper aims to provide a basis for the government’s design of emission reduction plans at the provincial and regional levels,and accelerates the development of China’s low-carbon economy and the implementation of carbon neutral policy.