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1TheConceptofLow-carbonEconomyandEvaluationMethodologyofLowCarbonCity:CaseStudyofJilinCityPanJiahua,ZhuangGuiyang,ZhengYan,ZhuShouxian,XieQianyi(ResearchCenterofUrbanDevelopmentandEnvironment,CASS,Beijing100732)Abstract:Low-carboneconomyhasbecomeahottopicwiththegrowingchallengesposedbyclimatechange.However,theextensivein-depthstudiesonthedefinitionandevaluationmethodologyoflowcarboneconomyhavenotyetbeenconducted.Thispaperconcludesthatalowcarboneconomyisaneconomicformthathavebothachievedahighlevelofcarbonproductivityandhumandevelopment,whichiscorrelatedwithaneconomy’sdevelopmentlevelaswellasdrivingforcessuchasresourceendowment,technologicaladvancement,consumptionbehaviorandenvironmentalpolicy.Onthebasisofexploringtheconceptandkeydrivingfactorsoflowcarboneconomy,thispaperanalyzespossibleindicatorstoevaluatelow-carboneconomy,andfurtherdevelopsanindicatorsystemwithfourdifferentdimensions:low-carbonoutputs,low-carbonconsumption,low-carbonresources,andlow-carbonpolicies.TheindicatorsystemistestedwithacasestudyofJilin’slow-carboneconomydevelopmentstatusandpotentials.Keywords:lowcarboneconomy,consumptionemission,carbonproductivity,humanitydevelopment,JilinCityGlobalwarminginducedbyAnthropogenicGHGemissionshasbecomeincreasinglythehotspotofglobalattention.FromUNFCCCtotheKyotoProtocol,tothecontentiouspost-Kyotonegotiationsandescalatingdiscussionsondevelopmentrightsandemissionrights,low-carboneconomyhasemergedasanewconcept.Whatisalow-carboneconomy?Howtotransferaneconomyfromaconventionalfossilfull-basedhighcarbonstyletoalow-carbonone?Althoughasanew-bornhottopic,low-carboneconomicdevelopmentisgettingmoreandmoreattentionglobally,yetsystematic,in-depthresearchesarestillneededontheconcept,theconnotation,theimplication,theroadmapoflow-carboneconomy.Astheworld’slargestemitterandthelargestdevelopingcountry,Chinashouldseekforlow-carbondevelopmentinordertobeanactivepartnercombatingclimatechangewhileensuringitseconomicdevelopment.2I.TheConceptandImplicationsofLow-carbonEconomyLow-carboneconomyisproposedwiththerecognitionofclimatechange,whichiscausedbyhumanactivitiesaccordingtoscientificconsensus.Toaddressclimatechangeandensuresustainabledevelopment,aninternationalinstitutionhasbeendeveloped,includingtheUNFCCCandtheKyotoProtocol,whichrecognizescommonbutdifferentiatedresponsibilityandcallsforcooperationtoaddressclimatechange.Manycountrieshavetakenactiveactionstodetachfromtheirtraditionalfossil-fuels-dependenteconomyandtoexploreanewpathoflow-carbonsustainabledevelopment.Thoughtheterminologyoflow-carboneconomywasfoundinliteraturefromasearlyasinlate1990s1,itwasnotpresentedinofficialdocumentuntilFebruary24th,2003,whenformerBritishPrimeMinisterTonyBlairdeclaredin“Ourenergyfuture-creatingalowcarboneconomy”a60%reductionofGHGemissionfrom1990levelby2050andcreatealow-carboneconomyinBritain2.InOctober2006,Britishgovernmentissuedareport“SternReviewontheEconomicsofClimateChange”byNicholasStern,formerchiefeconomistoftheWorldBank.InthereportMr.Sternclaimsthatwith1%ofannualglobalGDPinvestedtoaddressclimatechange,wecouldavoidfuturelossworth5%20%ofannualGDP.Hefurthercalledatransformationtolow-carboneconomy3.In2007IntergovernmentalPanelforClimateChange(IPCC)publisheditsfourthassessmentreport,whichsettleddisputesonclimatechange,setscientificfoundationforfuturediscussionsandcalledforglobalcollaborativeaction,andpointedoutthattheearlierweacttheeasierthetaskwouldbe.ThereportalsocontendedthatfutureGHGemissionislargelydependingonourchoiceofdevelopmentpatterns.AsBaliRoadmapbeingdeveloped,globalactionstoaddressclimatechangefurtheremergeandlow-carboneconomydevelopmentgetsmoreandmoreattention.UNEPhassetthethemeofthe2008EnvironmentalDayas“KicktheHabits!TowardsaLow-carbonEconomy”withthehopetopromoteconsensusonlow-carboneconomyconceptamongpolicy-makersaroundtheworldatalllevels.Low-carboneconomyhasgeneratedcuriosityinlow-carbondevelopmentaswellasconfidenceinaddressingclimatechange.In2007Britainissueda“ClimateChangeStrategicFramework”andproposedaprospectofgloballow-carboneconomy,whichmaybeasinfluentialasfirstindustrialrevolution.JapanannounceditsambitiontofullyutilizeitshightechnologiesinenergyandenvironmentalfieldandmakingJapanthefirst“Low-carbonSociety”intheworld.TheU.S.wasquiteinactiveinthisfieldforalongtime;however,therehasalwaysbeenafocusontechnicalsolutionto1AnnP.KinzigandDanielM.Kammen,“NationalTrajectoriesofCarbonEmissions:analysisofproposalstofosterthetransitiontolow-carboneconomies”,GlobalEnvironmentalChange,Vol.8,No.3,183-208,1998.2DTI(DepartmentofTradeandIndustry),EnergyWhitePaper:OurEnergyFuture—CreateaLowCarbonEconomy.London:TSO,2003.3SternNicolars,SternReviewontheEconomicsofClimateChange,CambridgeUniversityPress,2007.3addressclimatechangeinthecountry.In2007alow-carbonbillwassubmittedtothecongress,suggestingthatitcouldbeamajorstrategicchoice.Othercountriesarenotleavingbehindatthesametime,proposinglow-carbonstrategiesandexploringinthefield.Industriesarealsotakingactiveactions.Low-carboneconomyisnotaquestionof“whetheritisnecessaryornot”,itisamatterof“h