Grey relation analysis of economics, energy consumption and environment in China

The rapid growth of the economy has brought great benefits to Chinese socio-economic levels during the past several decades. However, it also increases the risk of energy security and environmental problems. This paper explores the inter-relationships among economy, energy consumption and CO₂ emission in China in order to provide sustainable development policy making. Grey relation analysis was used to analyze the productivity, energy consumption in relation to CO₂ emission changes. Results indicate that the total energy consumption has more significant influence than the economic growth on CO₂ emission increase in China, and that a rapid increase in electricity consumption during the past 10 years is another main factor for CO₂ emission increase. The largest CO₂ emitting sectors include industry, transportation, and buildings. Therefore, it is important to decouple the energy consumption, improve energy efficiency to reduce the impacts of CO₂ emission on sustainable development. Governmental policies should be directed towards adjustment of energy structure, low carbon fuels as well as towards enhancement of the demand side management mechanism.