Coal Supply Chains: A Whole-Process-Based Measurement of Carbon Emissions in a Mining City of China

The purpose of the study is to understand the carbon emissions in the coal supply chains of a mining city. The paper employed a conceptual methodology for the estimation of carbon emissions in the four processes of coal mining, selection and washing, transportation and consumption. The results show that the total carbon emission of the coal supply chain in Wu’an is up to 3.51 × 1010 kg and is mainly sourced from the coal mining and consumption, respectively accounting for 13.10% and 84.62%, which indicates that deep coal processing plays a more critical determinant in coal production and consumption. Among the pillar industries, the carbon emissions from the steel industry accounts for 85.41% of the total in the coal consumption process, which indicates that the structure of carbon emissions is dependent on the local industrial structure. Additionally, the carbon directly from CO2 accounts for 89.46%. Our study is not only to be able to supply references for the formulation strategy of a low carbon city, but also to provide a new approach to urban development patterns with a new view for coal resource management