Capturing the impact of urbanization on carbon dioxide emissions by DMSP/OLS nighttime light data: A case study in Yangtze river delta

Abstract

The rapid urbanization in developing countries, a contribution to increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, plays an important role in the climate change issue. China is the largest energy related carbon dioxide (COf2) emitter in 2008, contributing 23% of global emissions, while urban areas emit about 84% of it. This study estimate CO2 emissions from cities located in Yangtze River Delta, China, jointly using remote sensing data and statistical data due to lack of energy statistical information. The results show that the CO2 emissions in YRD cities increase rapidly in the past fifteen years, from 106 million tons C in 1995 to 296 million tons C in 2010. Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nibo are the top four emitters in the past fifteen years. The YRD cities are more crucial than those other less developed cities, which home to 7.8% of national population, and contribute 17.3% of total GDP, producing 12.8% of total emissions. Increasing urbanization is a national policy in China. It is foreseeable that energy use is continuous to increase due to rising incomes and the continuous concentration of energy consuming sectors within cities.