On August 20, international top-level comprehensive academic journal Nature published the paper “Reduced carbon emission estimates from fossil fuel combustion and cement production in China”, whose co-author is Professor Liu Junguo of Environmental College. This research results show that the carbon emission in China is overvalued about 14%.

Fossil fuel combustion and cement production will cause carbon emission. During 2010-2012, three-quarter growth of global carbon emission caused by this is from China. However, the estimation of carbon emission in China is greatly uncertain. This uncertainty is mainly sourced from the estimation of energy consumption and carbon emission factor, and the estimation error of carbon emission factor is caused by too less measured data. Author of the paper conducts re-estimation for the carbon emission in China through using updated energy consumption and cement production data and combining with two sets of carbon emission factor data measured in China. Research results show that the carbon emission factor of China’s coal carbon is 40% lower than the emission factor recommended by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Integrated with the upgraded consumption data and emission factor data, in 2013, the carbon emission from fossil fuel combustion and cement production in China is 2.49 megatons (+ 7.3%), which is about 14% lower than the data estimated before. During 2000-2013, the carbon emission re-estimated is 2.9 megatons lower than the accumulated value of carbon emission estimated before; the high value of carbon emission researched formerly is higher than the quantity of carbon sink (2.66 megatons) accumulated by forests in China from 1990 to 2007, and also higher than the total quantity of carbon sink (2.6 megatons) of China lands from 2000 to 2009.

Special report for this research on Nature

Nature makes special report for the above research in the news column titled as “China’s emission overestimated”. This report shows that the above research may be the best estimation about China’s carbon emission; it is a big contribution to researching the carbon emission of China even of the world. The method, data and conclusion adopted by the article is a great scientific contribution to scientific evaluating and correct recognizing China’s carbon emission behavior. The conclusion that the carbon emission in China is over-estimated will also support the international climate negotiation of China’s government to a large extent.

The above research is accomplished by many scholars from units such as Harvard University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, and SUSTech, etc.

Download link of the article:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v524/n7565/full/nature14677.html#affil-auth

[Personal profile]
Professor Liu Junguo mainly works on the research in the aspect of hydrology and water resources and wetland ecology. He had published more than 70 papers in periodicals such as Nature, Science, PNAS and so on. Of which, he had published 1 original article in Nature, 1 article in Science and 2 original articles in PNAS. The articles published by him are quoted by articles in periodicals such as Nature, Science for more than 1,200 times. These articles are awarded as “A Hundred Most Influential International Academic Papers in China” and “ESI Highly Cited Papers in the World in Recent Ten Years”. Professor Liu holds the posts of the co-editor-in-chief of Journal of Water and Climate Change, the SCI periodical of International Water Association, the president of Beijing Ecological Rehabilitation, the peer review expert of Science and PNAS.

He has rich working experiences in China, America, Britain, Switzerland, Australia, Netherlands, etc., and holds the concurrent posts of the member of Technical Advisory Committee of UN Best Water Resources Practice Award, the member of Internet Peer Review Expert Committee of International Water Footprint, one of the major members of Netherlands “Environment and Sustainability Science” Professional Assessment Jury, the member of the Academic Committee of International Ecological Remediation Meeting and so on. His academic success in aspects of blue and green water, water footprint, virtual water, eco-hydrology plays a leading role in the development of international hydrological science. In 2015, he became the leader of the ten-year scientific program of International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), one of the current 7 leaders in the world, in charge of the global promotion work of the ten-year scientific program.