An Evaluation of the Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions From China’s Light Sector to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

As a high-energy-consuming sector, China’s light sector should have received more attention for its carbon emissions (CO2e). However, the literature on energy-related CO2e in China’s light sector is limited at present. This paper aims to assess the impact of China’s light sector on CO2e. This paper applies the energy consumption technique, input-output analysis technique, and structural decomposition model to analyze China’s light sector energy-related CO2e and emission reduction from the input-output perspective. The results show that the energy structure effect, energy intensity effect, and input structure effect are the main restraining factors for the growth of the light sector energy-related CO2e, which are caused by the expansion of the energy utilization structure on the supply side of the light sector. The final demand effect is the factor promoting the growth of the light sector energy-related CO2e. It reveals that the final demand products in the light sector still have high environmental degradation features. Policymakers should actively enhance and rationally adjust the demand for the light sector in numerous industries to avoid the resource waste caused by the excessive expansion of the light sector.