The Analysis of CO₂ Emission by Private Cars in Chinese cities and International Comparison

Abstract

This study aims to explore how city characteristics and the level of transport infrastructure influence car generated CO₂ emissions in Chinese cities and cities in developed countries. Discussion on different types of city grouping was conducted, in order to figure out how they perform differently in different type of cities and discover the factors effecting car CO₂ emission in Chinese cities at present and future. The research targets on 35 Chinese cities, 12 Japanese cities, 7 Korean cities, 34 U.S. metropolitan areas and 26 E.U. metropolitan areas with a population over 1 million. The car CO₂ emissions in this study are calculated by the daily trip data collected from PT survey datasets. Indexes concerning city characteristics and transport infrastructure were considered to effect the car CO₂ emission inside city. The research conducted intuitive analysis and regression analysis, and the distinct performances of indexes are apperceived between cities in China and developed countries. The study suggests that the minus effect of GRDP on the CO₂ emission in Chinese cities will weaken in the future, and high level of urban rail system shows the same significance as population density in constructing low carbon society.