Resource and environmental pressure and carrying capacity of regional economies

Based on ecological footprint and material flow analysis indicators, a model has been developed to reflect the aggregate environmental pressure and the carrying capacity of a regional economy. The model was applied to calculate the environmental pressure and carrying capacity of Shenyang in the period of 1991-2005. Results show that, of the total ecological footprint of Shenyang, 66%-80% came from carbon footprint and 20%-34% from direct footprint. The carbon footprint increased rapidly after 2000 at an average annual rate of 15.2%, higher than the GDP growth rate (13.76%) in the same period. Therefore, the principal issue of Shenyang´s environmental pressure is carbon emission. The direct ecological overload increased steadily at an average annual rate of 6.3% while the carbon overload increased rapidly after 1998 at an average annual rate of 20.8%, reached 15 million global hectares in 2005. This indicates that there exists a huge gap between the carbon absorption capacity and carbon emission in Shenyang and it is rapidly enlarging.