Exploring the trade-offs between electric heating policy and carbon mitigation in China.

ABSTRACT: China has enacted a series of policies since 2015 to substitute electricity for in-home combustion for rural residential heating. The Electric Heating Policy (EHP) has contributed to significant improvements in air quality, benefiting hundreds of millions of people. This shift, however, has resulted in a sharp increase in electric loads and associated carbon emissions. Here, we show that China's EHP will greatly increase carbon emissions. We develop a theoretical model to quantify the carbon emissions from power generation and rural residential heating sectors. We found that in 2015, an additional 101.69-162.89 megatons of CO₂ could potentially be emitted if EHP was implemented in 45-55% of rural residents in Northern China. In 2020, the incremental carbon emission is expected t

SUBMITTER: Wang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7695859 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature