Multi-regional input–output analysis for energy requirements and CO2 emissions in China

(1) Overview Energy is one of the most important material bases for the economic growth and social development of a country or region. Scientific forecasts and analysis of energy consumption will be of great importance for the planning of energy strategies and policies. With a vast territory such as those to be found in the regions of China, there are differences in physical geography, local economies, demographics, industry structure, etc. In particular, there are prominent differences between the most-developed coastal regions and the central and western part of China. Such variations lead to obvious discrepancy amongst their energy reliance and energy-requirement structure. In order to facilitate harmonious development of energy and economic composition in all regions, and to avoid the biases caused by merely considering scenarios at the national level, it is of great importance to further study the future energy requirements at the regional level as well as at the national level (Fan et al., 2007; Wei et al., 2006). Such a study is of great help when considering local requirements and to support regional energy development programs, and to harmonize resource-based advantages among/between regions. What is more, the analysis of future regional CO2 emissions could serve to provide academic bases for the allocation of environment-related rights and obligations among/between regions in future. (2) Methods In this study, China is divided into eight economic regions. A multi-regional input–output model (Miller and Blair, 1985) for energy requirements and CO2 emissions in China was established, and employed to perform scenario and sensitivity analysis for each economic regio