Embodied energy assessment for Macao׳s external trade

As a typical heterotrophic city, Macao׳s economic boom is fueled by external trade, which provides Macao with not only direct energy products in forms of oil, gas and electricity, but also indirect energy embodied in other imports. However, the prevalent studies on Macao׳s energy issues are confined to direct energy inputs. Based on the most recent trade statistics and embodied energy intensity databases, a comprehensive assessment of energy embodied in Macao׳s external trade after its sovereignty handover is performed. The results show that Macao׳s embodied energy consumption is over 2 times as that of direct energy consumption. The net embodied energy transfer via external trade from other regions to Macao increased from 6.31E+7GJ in 2000 to 8.75E+7GJ in 2011, while the embodied energy intensity dropped sharply from 1.02E+04GJ/ million USD to 2.40E+3GJ/million USD in the same period. Non-energy-products and services rather than energy products play the key role in energy transfer, indicating that indirect energy dominates Macao׳s embodied energy consumption. The largest energy imbalance happens between Macao and mainland China. Given the nature of Macao׳s economy and escalating socio-economic development, it is suggested that the invisible but dominant indirect energy consumption by Macao should be addressed by decision makers and included in future development strategies.

[1]  J. S. Li,et al.  Embodied greenhouse gas emission by Macao , 2013 .

[2]  B. W. Ang,et al.  Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade and the driving forces: Processing and normal exports , 2013 .

[3]  Zhan-Ming Chen,et al.  Demand-driven energy requirement of world economy 2007: A multi-region input-output network simulation , 2013, Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul..

[4]  B. W. Ang,et al.  Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: The effects of spatial aggregation , 2010 .

[5]  Wai Ming To,et al.  The causal relationship between electricity consumption and economic growth in a Gaming and Tourism Center: The case of Macao SAR, the People’s Republic of China , 2010, Energy.

[6]  T. M. Lai,et al.  Fuel life cycle emissions for electricity consumption in the world’s gaming center–Macao SAR, China , 2011 .

[7]  Jan Pieters,et al.  Modelling solar energy input in greenhouses , 1999 .

[8]  Yi-Ming Wei,et al.  Multi-regional input-output model for regional energy requirements and CO2 emissions in China , 2007 .

[9]  Clark W. Bullard,et al.  Net energy analysis : handbook for combining process and input-output analysis , 1976 .

[10]  Guoqian Chen,et al.  Carbon emissions and resources use by Chinese economy 2007: A 135-sector inventory and input–output embodiment , 2010 .

[11]  Adisa Azapagic,et al.  The application of life cycle assessment to process optimisation , 1999 .

[12]  Zhan-Ming Chen,et al.  Three-scale input-output modeling for urban economy: Carbon emission by Beijing 2007 , 2013, Commun. Nonlinear Sci. Numer. Simul..

[13]  Manfred Lenzen,et al.  Energy requirements of Sydney households , 2004 .

[14]  W. Leontief.  Quantitative Input and Output Relations in the Economic Systems of the United States , 1936 .

[15]  G. Treloar.  Extracting Embodied Energy Paths from Input–Output Tables: Towards an Input–Output-based Hybrid Energy Analysis Method , 1997 .

[16]  D W Pennington,et al.  Life cycle assessment: Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications , 2004 .

[17]  L. Kamp,et al.  Review of the small wind turbine sector in Kenya: Status and bottlenecks for growth , 2015 .

[18]  Y. P. Singh,et al.  Comparative assessment of energy requirements for different types of residential buildings in India , 1995 .

[19]  John Sweeney,et al.  Modelling the impact of urban form on household energy demand and related CO2 emissions in the Greater Dublin Region , 2012 .

[20]  Jing Meng,et al.  Renewable resource for agricultural ecosystem in China: Ecological benefit for biogas by-product for planting , 2012, Ecol. Informatics.

[21]  Y. Xi,et al.  Energy embodied in the international trade of China: An energy input–output analysis , 2010 .

[22]  Guoqian Chen,et al.  Energy and greenhouse gas emissions review for Macao , 2013 .

[23]  Edgar G. Hertwich,et al.  Pollution embodied in trade: The Norwegian case , 2006 .

[24]  A. Ian Murdoch.  Balance of Energy , 2012 .

[25]  Bo Zhang,et al.  Greenhouse gas emissions in China 2007: Inventory and input-output analysis , 2010 .

[26]  Jaime Nivala,et al.  Energy requirements for nitrification and biological nitrogen removal in engineered wetlands , 2009 .

[27]  Wai Ming To,et al.  Modeling of electricity consumption in the Asian gaming and tourism center—Macao SAR, People's Republic of China , 2008 .

[28]  Bin Chen,et al.  Ecological footprint accounting based on emergy—A case study of the Chinese society , 2006 .

[29]  Andrew M. Dixon,et al.  Assessing the environmental impact of two options for small-scale wastewater treatment: comparing a reedbed and an aerated biological filter using a life cycle approach , 2003 .

[30]  Ge Chen,et al.  Embodied carbon dioxide emission at supra-national scale: A coalition analysis for G7, BRIC, and the rest of the world , 2011 .

[31]  Tasawar Hayat,et al.  Mercury emissions by Beijing׳s fossil energy consumption: Based on environmentally extended input–output analysis , 2015 .

[32]  Guoqian Chen,et al.  Energy and carbon emission review for Macao's gaming industry , 2014 .

[33]  Mansour Rahimi,et al.  Future energy loads for a large-scale adoption of electric vehicles in the city of Los Angeles: Impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions , 2014 .

[34]  Scott Victor Valentine,et al.  Braking wind in Australia: A critical evaluation of the renewable energy target , 2010 .

[35]  G. Q. Chen,et al.  Water footprint assessment for wastewater treatment: method, indicator, and application. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[36]  Bo Zhang,et al.  Methane emissions by Chinese economy: Inventory and embodiment analysis , 2010 .

[37]  Niels Schulz,et al.  Delving into the carbon footprints of Singapore--comparing direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions of a small and open economic system , 2010 .

[38]  Guoqian Chen,et al.  An overview of energy consumption of the globalized world economy , 2011 .

[39]  B. W. Ang,et al.  Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: Competitive versus non-competitive imports , 2013 .

[40]  Cai Zhenyu,et al.  An ecological assessment of the vernacular architecture and of its embodied energy in Yunnan, China , 2006 .

[41]  Guoqian Chen,et al.  Embodied energy consumption of building construction engineering: Case study in E-town, Beijing , 2013 .