the essence, feature and role of low carbon economy
TRANSCRIPT
The essence, feature and role of low carbon economy
Xiangsheng Dou
Received: 8 November 2013 / Accepted: 16 April 2014� Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
Abstract Low carbon economy regards economic system as an integral part of natural
world, and its goal is through reducing and saving materials (minus materialization such as
energy saving, consumption cut and greenhouse gas emission reduction) to realize har-
monious development between man and nature to create a higher standard of living, better
quality of life and more opportunity for development for people. Therefore, low carbon
economy is a new economic development pattern, philosophy and way of subverting
traditional economy and is an important impetus for economic and social development.
How to develop low carbon economy is an economic and technical issue as well as a
political issue. In the context of globalization, it is a great economic game in the world, and
only the country taking an advantage in this game will be able to win a greater space and a
better opportunity for development. Clearly, low carbon economy represents the future
direction and trend of economic development, and it is the basis and condition of realizing
sustainable development.
Keywords Low carbon economy � Energy saving and consumption cut � Reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions
1 Introduction
Global climate warming has become a major issue with widespread concerns of interna-
tional community, for it will result in glacier melt, sea level rising and abnormal climatic
change, which will take a significant impact on natural eco-environment and human sur-
vival and safety. And the cause resulting in such climate changes has nothing but the
natural and the artificial factors. However, scientific research has showed that in recent
X. Dou (&)Center for International Economic Research, School of Public Administration, Southwest JiaotongUniversity, Chengdu 610031, People’s Republic of Chinae-mail: [email protected]
123
Environ Dev SustainDOI 10.1007/s10668-014-9542-9
50 years, global climate warming is mainly caused by the rising of greenhouse gas density
in atmosphere because of a large number of fossil fuel uses and a large area of forest
destruction. In this case, to develop low carbon economy has become an unavoidable
choice for people to deal with climate change (Ding 2008).
Since the idea of low carbon economy was proposed by British government in 2003, it
has brought to international attention and aroused positive response (UK government
2003). At present, to develop low carbon economy has become a mainstream strategic
choice for international society, and academic circles surround the theory and policy issue
of low carbon economy to carry out research, too. From the perspective of existing
research literatures, most researches are mainly focused on the following three aspects. The
first is to set up a model system of technical and economic policy and its impact on
greenhouse gas emissions for the world, and to use model system for simulation and
prediction analysis to explore the effects of different technology policies on greenhouse
gas emissions to provide a theoretical basis for the future decision making of government
(Hanson et al. 2006; Jonathan et al. 2006).
The second is the research of policy tools, costs and economic effects of carbon
emission reduction to explore the policy methods and tools of carbon emission reduction,
the implementation costs of different carbon emission policies and its economic impact and
the evaluation of different policy effects (Reyer and Zwaan 2004; Parry et al. 2002;
Toshihiko et al. 2006; Murphy et al. 2006). The third is the research of clean development
mechanism and carbon emission right trading to discuss how to design a new international
environmental cooperation mechanism to settle climate change and carbon emission right
allocation, carbon emission trading system and others (Ellerman 2002).
In fact, whether in theory or in practice, a lot of theory, policy and practice issues about
low carbon economy need still academic circles to take a thorough study and discussion.
For example, what is exactly low carbon economy, what is the effect of low carbon
economy on future economy and society, what is the condition of low carbon economy
development, how do all countries develop low carbon economy under the current con-
dition and so forth. These issues are directly related to the formation of the philosophy, the
technology roadmap and the action of low carbon economy. However, current research in
these areas has not still formed a standardized, matured system of theory research.
As for the connotation of low carbon economy is concerned, at this stage, China’s
theoretical and practical circles have several different explanations. A viewpoint thinks
that low carbon economy is a development pattern of low emission economy of decar-
bonization taking an effective control on greenhouse gas emissions based on the innovation
of energy technology and energy demand structure change (Zhuang 2005; Wang 2008).
Another viewpoint thinks that low carbon economy is a general express with a type of new
economic formation such as low carbon technology, low carbon industry, and low carbon
life taking energy saving, consumption cut and greenhouse gas emission reduction as the
core to maintain ecological balance (Feng 2009; Bao et al. 2008). Furthermore, the third
viewpoint thinks that low carbon economy is essentially a sustainable economic devel-
opment pattern of high efficacy, high efficiency and high gain taking the transition from
high-energy consumption, high emissions and high pollution to low energy consumption,
low emissions and low pollution (Liu 2009; Fu et al. 2008).
These viewpoints above explain low carbon economy from different perspectives,
respectively, and all have their proper place. However, in essence, low carbon economy is
not only a sustainable economic development pattern, and more importantly, it is a new
economy of having revolutionary significance, which will radically change the existing
pattern of economic development and thereby produce a previously unknown major effect
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on socioeconomic activities of people. Obviously, systematically and deeply to explore the
connotation of low carbon economy and its related problems has not only a certain the-
oretical significance, but also an important practical application value.
As low carbon economy development involves many issues, this paper will systemat-
ically explore the essence, feature and role of low carbon economy from different angles to
profoundly reveal some of basic theoretical issues related to low carbon economy devel-
opment. Remaining of paper is arranged as follows. The second part will discuss this
proposition that low carbon economy is essentially a new economy of having more vitality
to clearly reveal the essential connotation of low carbon economy. The proposition that
low carbon economy will gestate a new economic development philosophy and method
will be analyzed in the third part to further illustrate the essential characteristics of low
carbon economy. The fourth part will focus on the analysis that low carbon economy has
an important role in economic and social development. In the last part, a conclusive remark
on this paper will be presented.
2 The essence of low carbon economy: a new more dynamic economy
With the increasing development of modern industrialization society, while people are
making much material wealth, they will also result in more serious threat to the health and
survival of people such as the excessive use of natural resources, the shortage of energy,
the worsening of ecological environment and so forth. In the current case that people are
facing the problems of increasingly severe resource, energy, environment and climate
change, how to realize coordinate development between population, resource and envi-
ronment to create a higher quality of life and more opportunities for development for
people has become a major problem that people need urgently to address (Dou 2013a).
Energy that contemporary socioeconomic development needs mainly comes from fossil
fuels. On the one hand, due to technical limitations, in a certain period of time the heavy
use of fossil fuels will unavoidably produce large amounts of carbon emissions. On the
other hand, in order to meet growing material and cultural needs of people, energy con-
sumption based on increasing inputs appears a trend of rapid growth, which aggravates the
contradiction of carbon emissions. Scientific research has showed that a lot of carbon
emissions will cause global climate warming, and thus, it may pose a serious threat against
the survival environment of people. In this case, to develop low carbon economy has
become an unavoidable choice for the development of people.
In essence, low carbon economy is a new economy with the characteristics of low
energy consumption, low emissions and low pollution. In the existing condition of tech-
nology and system, the socioeconomic activities of people have been always based on
vicious circle development pattern of high inputs–high outputs–high emissions, which is
hard to avoid the problem of high growth, high-energy consumption, high emissions and
high pollution. In order to fundamentally solve the problems, it is necessary to start another
path to set up a benign circulation development pattern of energy saving and consumption
cut with the characteristics of low inputs–high outputs–low emissions. Just for adapting to
such a benign development, low carbon economy that essentially stresses the character-
istics of low energy consumption, low emissions and low pollution (called as ‘‘three lows’’)
of socioeconomic development is put forward, and its goal is to realize sustainable growth
(Dou 2013b).
Furthermore, ‘‘three lows’’ referred to here is important in a technical and economic
significance as well as in a social sense, for they run through whole process of production
Role of low carbon economy
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and living of people. Therefore, low carbon economy provides some new development
ideas and opportunities for people, and it is a new economic development pattern with the
landmark of new era and represents the future direction and trend of economic develop-
ment, and thus, it is a foundation and an inevitable requirement to achieve economic and
social sustainable development.
Considering the relationship between man and nature, in social and economic activities
of people, people for oneself demand often take a great influence on nature. Therefore, how
to coordinate the contradiction between man and nature has been an important basic
problem that people are trying to address. One of the main contradictions between man and
nature is the infinite growth of people’s demand for materials and the limitation of natural
resources. If this contradiction cannot be better solved, it will eventually lead to the
depletion of non-renewable natural resources. Another major contradiction between man
and nature is the destructive effects of economic activities of people on natural ecological
environment, for example, the overuse of natural resources, energy crisis, environment
deterioration and so forth.
In a long period of time, people have been trying to solve or ease this contradiction, for
example, comprehensively to promote the activities of technological innovation and
industrial upgrading, vigorously to carry out the work of energy saving, consumption cut
and emission reduction, actively to develop recycling and green economy, and so forth.
Although these measures have gained a great effect, yet they cannot still fundamentally
solve the contradiction between man and nature. The reason is that the relationship
between man and nature is complex, involving natural material as well as technical and
economic field, the sphere of material production as well as the areas of people’s daily
consumption and living, the people’s as well as the natural causes, the technical as well as
the systematic factors, the realistic as well as the historical factors, the domestic as well as
the international factors and so forth.
In so complicated contradictions, some have been known by people but not solved, and
others have not still been recognized or not fully understood and thereby difficultly solved,
which need people to adopt a new thought and take a system engineering method to solve
them. To develop low carbon economy is opening up a new idea and approach, as low
carbon economy always follows the principle of benign interaction, harmonious devel-
opment and common development between man and nature to comprehensively practise
sustainable development with energy saving and consumption cut, low emissions and no
pollution, and green and environmental protection.
Compared with traditional economic development pattern, low carbon economy pays
more attention to the realization of continuous dynamic optimization of economic and
social development process. Traditional economic development pattern is based on the
material and technological conditions of modern industrial civilization. While it creates
enormous material wealth for people, it brings serious socioeconomic problems such as the
overuse of natural resources, energy crisis and eco-environment deterioration, too.
Although in a relatively long period of time people have been trying to solve the problems
in development, yet so far people have not still gained an ideal effect. The reason is that, on
the one hand, although modern developed productivity provides various material products
for people, it is still hard to fully meet people’s increasingly physical demand, taking the
original impulsion of unlimited production growth.
On the other hand, under the conditions of modern commodity economy, the basic goal
of any economic activities always chase profit maximization, but resources, environment
and sustainable development have the property of public goods or quasi-public goods,
which will unavoidably lead to so serious consequence as the tragedy of public meadows.
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Therefore, traditional economic development pattern oriented to pushing material capital
growth is difficult to fundamentally solve the contradiction between the infinite growth of
material capitals and the ecological sustainability.
Different from traditional economic development pattern, low carbon economy pays
more attention to harmonious development between the unlimited expansion of production
system and the limited capacity of natural ecosystem, and takes economic system as an
organic composition part of natural world with a physical limit and bearing capacity of
specific development through minus materialization to realize the sustainability of natural
ecosystem and material production ability (Bartelmus 2008). Because low carbon economy
takes material economic activities on the basis of bearing capacity of natural ecosystem, so
it can realize the continuous dynamic optimization of economic and social development
process, and thereby guarantee the inherent sustainability of material capitals, social
welfare and ecological system.
Another inherent feature of low carbon economy is that it stresses to achieve overall low
carbonization of people’s production and life way. At this stage, the phenomenon of high
growth, high-energy consumption, high emissions and high pollution caused by people’s
economic and social activities is related to low efficient production way as well as inap-
propriate life style of people. Particularly in underdeveloped economy, because of back-
ward technology and management and low economic efficiency, the waste phenomenon of
natural resources and energy caused by it is very universal, and its negative impacts on
ecological environment are more prominent. With the rapid development of economy, the
damaging effects of extensive economy on natural ecosystems are increasingly serious and
more and more complicated.
However, although developed economy has a higher economic efficiency and quality,
people’s excessive pursuit for high or even luxury consumption in the daily life will
consume a lot of resources and energy and at the same time will also produce large
amounts of wastes and garbage, which cause a bad influence on natural ecological envi-
ronment. Along with people’s constant pursuit for material enjoyment, unharmonious
contradiction between man and nature will be more outstanding, too. Therefore, to solve
above contradictions needs to take action from all fields of people’s production and life.
Especially, the essential characteristic of low carbon economy is to stress the realization of
overall low carbonization of people’s production and life style.
In the production, it stresses the optimization of input–output structure in all links of
fore-production, inter-production and post-production, taking microenergy consumption
and zero emissions as a guide to achieve ecological sustainability and the sustainability of
material production ability. In the life, it launches green consumption pattern oriented to
energy saving and environmental protection and the cyclic use of resources to greatly
create higher living standards and better consumption quality and as far as possible to
reduce people’s dependence on fossil energy and high carbon products to really realize
harmonious development between man and nature.
To sum up, the core of low carbon economy is to stress low consumption, low emis-
sions, low pollution, high outputs and sustainable development, and it covers all aspects
from the development and use of natural resources to production, circulation, distribution
and consumption. And its goal is for people to create a higher standard of living, better life
quality and more development opportunity to really realize the sustainable development of
economy and society (Zhang 2008).
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3 The essential characteristic of low carbon economy: a new development philosophyand way
Low carbon economy means that a new economic development pattern is about to emerge,
and thus, it will bring new development opportunities for all countries in the world. The
biggest difference from traditional economy is that low carbon economy contains a new
development philosophy and way, which completely change inherent development phi-
losophy and way of people. From the perspective of development philosophy, both
developed countries and developing countries have always been taking economic growth
as a goal to plan various socioeconomic activities, so the spiral rising of population and
economic growth becomes unavoidable. After the book of the Limit of Growth was
published by the Rome Club in the 1970s, it has caused a profound reflection of people on
real world, providing sustainable development philosophy for people. However, in real
operation, development philosophy oriented to taking the growth as preference has been
always occupying a leading position.
From the perspective of development way, with the continuous improvement of tech-
nology and management, intensive growth has become normality, but this kind of growth
still takes the pursuit of sustainable material and welfare maximization as a preferred
growth target. Therefore, it is difficult to realize the internal sustainable growth of organic
fusion between material capitals, social welfares and ecological system. Low carbon
economy will change this situation, for its basic idea and goal is to achieve harmonious
development between economy, society and nature, and it takes socioeconomic system as
an organic composition part of natural world with a physical limit and bearing capacity in
specific development, which avoid damaging effects caused by the spiral rise of population
and economic growth on ecological system (Bartelmus 2008).
Considering the evolution of economic development way, low carbon economy frames
the core of transformation of future economic development way. At the early stage of
relatively developed productivity, in a long period of time, people have been unilaterally
aiming at economic growth. Since 1960s, people have recognized that the pursuit of a
single growth goal could lead to adverse results and begun to change the target from
economic growth to economic development. Economic development includes economic
growth (namely the expansion of economic scale) as well as structural optimization,
industrialization and urbanization development, technology progress, system transition,
social development and progress and so forth (Dou 2007).
Obviously, economic development more stresses harmonious development between
economy and society, thereby to promote the transition of economic growth pattern from
extensive to intensive growth. However, with population growth and people’s unlimited
pursuit for material wealth, even under intensive growth pattern with a developed tech-
nology, the contradictions of excessive consumption for natural resources and energy
caused by increasing material production as well as the resulting deterioration of ecological
environment will become more and more prominent, too.
Therefore, how to develop low carbon economy will become the core of future eco-
nomic pattern change. The core of low carbon economic development is to take economic
and social development on the basis of physical boundaries of natural ecological system
and bearing capacity in specific development, and emphasizes harmonious and balanced
development between economy, society and ecology. In a specific way of development,
low carbon economy takes low consumption, low emissions, low pollution and high
outputs as the criterion for economic activities and respects the laws of material circulation
of natural world through minus materialization to achieve the sustainability of material
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production capacity, the maximization of social welfare and ecological sustainability,
resulting in a fundamental change in economic development pattern.
Low carbon economy is really a certain choice of economic development strategy
transformation in the times of post-industrialization. People have experienced primitive
nomadic society, underdeveloped agricultural society and developed industrialization
society, and have now entered the era of developed post-industrialization society. In
primitive nomadic society and underdeveloped agricultural society, because the capacity
that people understand and transform nature is limited and all human activities have been
only simply dependent on natural material resources and ecological system, the contra-
diction between people’s economic activity and natural environment is not very out-
standing. However, after entering developed industrialization society, because of
increasingly developed science and technology, the ability that people understand and
transform nature is more and more powerful.
With population growth and people’s constant pursuit for material wealth, material
wealth drawn from the great nature is increasingly growing, too. In this case, the con-
tradictions of excessive development surpassing the bearing capacity of natural world and
excessive use of natural resources, energy crisis and ecological environment deterioration
caused by it have become also increasingly prominent, which direct threats to the survival
and safety of people.
At present, people have entered into the era of post-industrialization, with the devel-
opment of science and technology, the ability that people understand and transform nature
will be more powerful, too. In this case, if not to change one-sided pursuit for material
wealth growth and thereby to ignore harmonious development between man and nature as
industrialization era will eventually lead to natural ecosystem collapse and thereby lead to
human’s own ruin. Therefore, to develop low carbon economy and to fulfill harmonious
coexistence and common development between economy, society and nature is an inevi-
table choice for people in the times of post-industrialization, and it shows clearly a correct
direction for sustainable development and permanent prosperity of people.
The basic feature of contemporary international society is economic globalization and
global economic integration. In the development of economic globalization, all countries in
the world are taking the revolution of information and technology as a foundation and
trying by controlling natural resources, talents and capitals in the world to compete
worldwide to seize high monopoly profits. Economic globalization can take positive effects
as well as bring adverse effects. Its positive effects are that economic globalization may
realize global allocation of resources and enlarge competitive range, which will improve
the efficiency of resource use and production. At the same time, it is also conducive to
promoting the liberalization development of trade and investment. However, under the
driving of supremacy doctrine of profits, economic globalization may also result in a
predatory exploitation and use on natural resources, which will cause the destruction of
ecological environment of associated nations.
In today’s world, there has appeared the phenomenon of fierce competition for resources
between major economic bodies, and their competition has already expanded from the land
to the ocean, again from the ocean to the polar region (such as the Arctic and the Antarctic)
and even extended to outer planets, and thus, it is possible to cause a partial war. Some-
body even predict that in the twenty-first century, there exists the chance of a new world
war caused just because of contending for world’s resources. Although this view can be
just an alarmist talk, yet the problems, for example, the overuse of natural resources, the
energy crisis and the deterioration of ecological environment caused by supremacy doc-
trine of material interests and so forth, have alerted people that it is necessary to pay more
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123
attention to ecological environment, otherwise the day of human self-destruction will be
not too distant.
Particularly on climate problem, since nearly half century, extreme weather on the globe
unusually happens more often, and it is just results that people impair natural environment.
However, climate problem is related to all countries in the world, which is impossible for
any single country to solve it. Because low carbon economy provides a common cognitive
basis for all countries in the world to solve global environmental and climate issue, it will
become a bridge and bond for improving future cooperation between different countries in
the world. Therefore, low carbon economy will create good conditions for new interna-
tional cooperation.
With economic globalization and global economic integration, both developed and
developing countries are actively seeking to expand foreign trade and investment and
trying to occupy a space in worldwide competition, which leads to fierce competition
between different nations. However, solely relying on competition is difficult to realize
interest maximization for every nation, for a country’s economic behavior often causes
negative external effects on other countries. Therefore, this will lead to a strong resistance
from harmed countries and worsen economic frictions between different countries or even
possibly lead to an economic war, which will seriously threat to the security of world
economy. This needs that while all countries in the world are each other taking fierce
competition, it is still necessary to strengthen international cooperation in some form to
form a symbiotic win–win pattern.
At this stage, regional international cooperation taking the European Union as a rep-
resentative is good, but worldwide international cooperation pattern has been not still
formed. The reason is that international cooperation at this stage is mainly based on the
economic interests of every nation, but there exist not fairly stable common interests
between different countries, which decides that it is difficult to set up a long-term stable
and effective mechanism for international cooperation. Low carbon economy development
offers a good chance for solving this problem, for the key to low carbon economy is to
solve global greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change, to lessen greenhouse gas
effects and to guarantee people’s survival security. However, to address global greenhouse
gas emissions is a common responsibility for the whole world, for all people are commonly
living on the same earth, which provides a foundation for all countries in the world to
strengthen international cooperation.
Even from economy itself to view, to strengthen international cooperation is conducive
to greatly cutting the costs of global emission reduction. In fact, the Kyoto Protocol passed
by the third conference of the parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change in the December of 1977 has set up a flexible mechanism of emission
reduction taking joint implementation, clean development mechanism and emission trading
as main contents, which lays a foundation for the forming of new international environ-
mental cooperation mechanism. It can be predicted that in the future, new international
cooperation mechanism taking international environmental cooperation as the core will be
increasingly perfect and matured, which will fundamentally change the pattern and
operational mechanism of world economy.
Low carbon economy will fundamentally change people’s production and life style.
Different from traditional economy, low carbon economy pays more attention to coordi-
nate development between population, resources and environment and takes low con-
sumption, low emissions, low pollution and high outputs as a guideline, and its goal is to
realize economic and social sustainable development organically integrated with natural
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world. Therefore, it fundamentally subverts unreasonable production and life way of
people.
Considering production way, all production processes in low carbon economy must
carry out the basic criterion of low consumption and high outputs, energy saving and
emission reduction, and the recycling use of resources. Therefore, in material production
process, it should pay more attention to the economical use of resources and energy as well
as the reuse of waste resources including industrial wastes and garbage to decrease natural
resource consumption and environmental pollution caused by material production as far as
possible. To achieve this goal needs not only to vigorously promote technological progress,
but also to do a good job in strategic planning, scientific organization and management in
specific production process and optimal allocation of resources related to production areas
(e.g., warehousing and logistics areas), and this will result in a revolutionary change of
production way with the characteristic of low carbonization.
Furthermore, in life way, low carbon economy wants people to set up the philosophy of
moderate consumption, green consumption and healthy civilization consumption, to pro-
mote the thrift and to oppose all forms of extravagance and waste and blind comparison
consumption to reduce the consumption of unnecessary material and resources as far as
possible. To achieve low carbon consumption not only itself can effectively reduce the
waste of resources and the environmental pollution caused by the daily life of people, but
also can guide the production to low carbonization development.
Therefore, in some meanings, compared with the low carbonization of production, the
low carbonization of consumption will play a more decisive role. The low carbonization of
consumption wants people to change old value viewpoint, preference, structure and pattern
of consumption with the characteristic of high consumption and high carbon consumption,
to change unreasonable consumption habits, to optimize the structure of consumption, to
improve the quality of consumption, and to achieve green consumption and civilized
consumption with the characteristic of low carbon and save to create a more wonderful
lifestyle and higher quality of life (Feng 2009; Jiang 2008).
4 The inherent role of low carbon economy: a new important socioeconomic drivingforce
System innovation has a decisive influence on low carbon economy development. If there
is not system innovation, there will be not the development of low carbon economy.
Therefore, in order to promote the development of low carbon economy, it is necessary to
speed up the innovation pace of system concerned to create a favorable system environ-
ment. Because low carbon economy is a new economy, it will fundamentally change
people’s production and life style, which is related to wide policies such as technical
policy, talent policy, industrial policy, energy policy, investment and financing policy, tax
policy, consumption policy and so forth.
How to design and practice above policies involves many problems, which need from
the height of strategy and system innovation to solve them. Once institutional innovation
gains a breakthrough, then it will fundamentally break up the obstacle of system restricting
economic development, which will stimulate economic vigor and efficiency, for system as
a rule of conduct is related to social, political and economic behavior. Therefore, any
economic growth is in a certain economic system and through a certain economic system
arrangement achieved. Through defining property rights, establishing social exchange
rules, building an effective economic organization, normalizing the division and
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cooperation of labor, shaping effective economic mechanism, improving information
structure, creating a good environment condition and so forth, the allocation of resources
and the state of economic operation can be improved, and thus, it is conducive to economic
growth (Dou 2002). Obviously, an institutional innovation from low carbon economy will
help to greatly promote social and economic development.
The key of whether low carbon economy can be realized is the breakthrough of low
carbon technology, so in low carbon economy development, the technological innovation
lies in a core position. Low carbon technologies involve a wide range, for example, energy
saving and emission reduction, renewable and new energy, carbon sink and carbon use,
ecological industrial engineering and ecological agriculture and so forth, and these tech-
nologies almost cover all people’s production and life (Jin and de Swaan Arons 2009).
Therefore, if such a breakthrough in technology can be made, it will play an important role
in the development of economy and society.
Because low carbon technology can not only change the properties of existing factors in
production and productivity, but also change economic structure and working pattern, all
these form the power source of economic and social development. Not only so, low carbon
technology innovation can still drive other relevant technical innovations, which will
improve the comprehensive competitiveness of a country. This is also one of the causes
that all countries in the world have been actively promoting the research and application of
low carbon technology.
Of course, at this stage because low carbon technology is still in the phase of explo-
ration, research, development and test and some low carbon technologies are still in a blank
state, their large-scale promotion and commercial application need still a long time.
However, through the continuous exploration and efforts of people, it may be predicted
that low carbon technology will be increasingly matured and perfect in the future one day.
Once low carbon technology gets a breakthrough and commercial application on a large
scale, it will change the economic operational mechanism and pattern.
Because the basic goal of low carbon economy development is to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, it is necessary to completely get rid of dependence on fossil energy, which will
cause a new energy revolution. The energy currently consumed mainly comes from fossil
energy such as petroleum, natural gas, coal and others, but fossil energy belongs to high
carbon energy and easily produces large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions, which will
generate an adverse impact on climate. At the same time, because fossil energy is still non-
renewable energy, with economic development, it will become less and less and may
eventually lead to an energy crisis. Therefore, how to reduce dependence on fossil energy
is not only the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also the need to ensure energy
security. In this case, vigorously to develop non-fossil energy has become unavoidable.
Non-fossil energy, for example, hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, solar power,
biomass power, geothermal power and ocean power, not only is a renewable energy and
inexhaustible, but also belongs to clean energy with low carbon, which can greatly reduce
greenhouse gas emissions (Xin et al. 2010). Therefore, low carbon energy will become a
direction of future energy development. Low carbon energy development not only can solve
the problem of greenhouse gas emissions and ensure energy security, but also as a new
energy industry it will inevitably become a new economic growth point, as the development
of low carbon energy industry itself can lead to a great deal of energy investment and in turn
more energy investment will drive economic growth, again. At the same time, the devel-
opment of low carbon energy industry can also provide enough energy for the development
of other industries to guarantee and promote the development of those industries. Obvi-
ously, low carbon energy development has an important promotion role on economy.
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The foundation and vigor of economic development comes from industrial develop-
ment. However, low carbon economy can promote the development of much new indus-
tries, and its impact on industrial development is showed in many aspects. Firstly, it will
directly promote the rapid rise of new energy industry. At present, all the countries in the
world are actively taking measures to promote the development of new energy industry. It
can be predicted that in near future, new energy industry will become a new pillar industry,
and in the new round of economic growth, it will play a leading role, which has an
important strategic sense in improving overall economic strength. Besides directly pro-
moting the development of new energy industry, low carbon economy will directly drive
the vigorous development of environmental protection industry, too.
Environmental protection industry takes the prevention and control of environmental
pollution, the improvement of ecological environment and the protection of natural
resources as an aim to carry out various economic and technological activities including
wastewater treatment, waste treatment, prevention and control of air pollution, research
and development and manufacturing of environmental protection equipment, environ-
mental protection services, development of environmental protection technology and so
forth. Therefore, it is related to all aspects of production, circulation, distribution, con-
sumption and service, which make a full green processing on each link of product man-
ufacturing from the birth to the death of products. Obviously, it is a comprehensive
emerging industry (Department of Environmental Protection 2011).
The fundamental task for the development of environmental protection industry is to
protect natural ecological environment, so in low carbon economy development, it lies in a
core position and is an important indicator measuring the effects of low carbon economy
development. In turn, low carbon economy development will promote the vigorous
development of environmental protection industry. At the same time, because environ-
mental protection industry is a comprehensive emerging industry, it has a significant
promotion role on national economy. Therefore, in the future, it will become an important
industry for all the countries in the world. In addition, low carbon economy will also drive
the upgrading and technological innovation of traditional industries to promote traditional
industry development with high efficiency and energy saving and to take the road of
intensive management, which will produce many industries with low carbon characteristic,
too.
How to foster a new economic growth point has always been one of the key problems
solved necessarily in urban and rural region development. Low carbon economy as a new
economy will be helpful to the cultivation of new economic growth point, which will bring
a new opportunity and vitality for regional development. City is an economic and social
collective body; the appearance and development of city is one of the symbols of human
civilization progress. However, due to unreasonable urban planning and excessive urban
expansion, it has caused the prevalence of urban diseases such as traffic congestion,
housing tension, the shortage of energy and water resource, serious pollution, the disorder
of public security and so forth, which has seriously restricted the healthy development of
city. Therefore, how to create a low carbon city and community has been imminent, and it
is a root measure of realizing sustainable urban development.
Through low carbon urban planning (focusing on building and traffic) and low carbon
project promotion (focusing on the promotion of renewable energy, the raising of energy
efficiency and the control of energy demand), we can not only achieve energy saving and
consumption cut, pollution emission reduction and natural environment improvement to
create a better life environment of city for people, but also can drive a batch of emerging
industrial development to create more employment opportunities for people.
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123
Compared to city, the biggest problem in rural areas is lagging behind on economic and
social development, and only relying on inorganic agriculture development with a high
carbon is difficult to change. However, to develop low carbon agriculture and green food
industry can effectively get rid of such a dilemma. On the one hand, low carbon agriculture
and green food industry itself has the properties of low energy consumption, low pollution
and low emissions, and it puts off the dependence of modern agriculture on chemical
fertilizer, pesticide and other fossil energy and belongs to a safety-typed agriculture.
Therefore, to develop this agriculture is helpful to reduce agricultural costs and raise
agricultural economic benefits. On the other hand, it can still improve agricultural struc-
ture, rural environment and peasant living quality. In addition, the development of low
carbon agriculture and green food industry can still promote the development of new
energy industry, environmental protection industry, forestry carbon sink industry (project)
and other industries in the rural, which helps to change backwardness state in rural areas
(Dou and Zhao 2014).
Low carbon economy further promotes the development of international carbon markets
and carbon trading, which is conducive to the expansion of international trade and econ-
omy to directly or indirectly promote the liberalization development of international trade
and investment. International cooperation based on greenhouse gas emission reduction has
spawned international carbon markets and carbon trading, and the Kyoto Protocol that has
taken into effect speeds up the development of international carbon markets and carbon
trading. Although at this stage international carbon markets and carbon trading are still at
the early stage of development, yet all countries are actively seeking to participate in
international carbon markets and carbon trading and hope to occupy a favorable position,
which has formed a new international environment cooperation mechanism taking clean
development mechanism as the representative (Zhen and Li 2003a, b).
The development of international carbon markets and carbon trading not only can drive
the development of corresponding international trade organization and institution, but also
promote the continuous development and expansion of related carbon finance, credit and
derivative products through the trading activities of growing prosperity, which will
eventually form a new international economic operation and cooperation mechanism
taking international carbon trading and finance as the core and will fundamentally change
current international economic and trade pattern. Therefore, the development of interna-
tional carbon markets and carbon trading not only directly drives the development of
international trade and investment liberalization in related fields, but also indirectly pro-
motes the development of international trade and investment liberalization in other fields to
bring new business opportunities for all countries in the world, which will produce a major
effect on global economic and trade development.
5 Conclusive remarking
Low carbon economy regards economic system as an organic ingredient part of natural
world and fully respects the laws of material circulation of natural world and stresses
harmonious and equilibrium development between economy, society and ecological
environment, so as through minus materialization to achieve the sustainability of material
production, the maximum of social welfare and ecological sustainability. While it is with
fewer resources and energy consumption and less environmental pollution to gain more
economic outputs, it creates not only a higher standard of living and a better quality of life,
but also more advanced technology and better development opportunities (UK government
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2003). Therefore, low carbon economy is an epoch-making new pattern of economic
development and represents the direction and trend of future economic development, and it
is foundation and certain requirement to achieve economic and social sustainable
development.
Low carbon economy is an economic and technical issue as well as a political issue.
Therefore, whether can actively and effectively promote low carbon economy development
is not only the needs of economic and social development, but also related to the status and
role of a country in the future economic pattern of the world. From a global perspective,
low carbon economy development is more like a big game of world economy, and only the
nation taking the opportunities and advantages in the game can win a larger development
space and better development opportunity.
In fact, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change marking the
development of global low carbon economy may be considered as the third international
rules after the Charter of the United Nations and the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (currently called as the World Trade Organization), and will be possible to become a
legal document abided by world’s people, driving the transformation of people’s civili-
zation from industrial civilization to ecological civilization in the future. Obviously, it has
become a world declaration of low carbon economy development (Li and Ma 2008).
Therefore, for all countries in the world, low carbon economy development is both a
challenge and an opportunity, and for every country, the key is how to grasp it and how to
take it as a motive force of development.
Considering the reality of economic operation, at this stage, China ‘s economy is still a
high carbon economy, and extensive economic growth with high-energy consumption,
high emissions, high pollution as well as inefficiency and low benefits caused by them is
still serious. How to energetically advance energy saving and emission cut, to improve the
use efficiency of resources and energy and to protect the resources and environment has
become a major problem that China must solve in the future. This needs energetically to
develop low carbon economy, actively to promote the innovation of low carbon technology
and system, and vigorously to develop new and renewable energy, as quickly as possible to
cultivate new industries and new economic growth points, and comprehensively to
improve the quality of economic development to fundamentally solve extensive economic
growth problem in China.
Acknowledgments This research was funded by research Grant (10XJY004) from the National SocialScience Foundation of China. The author appreciates generous support from the funds. The constructivecomments of two anonymous reviewers are thankfully acknowledged.
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