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Journal Article

Physical and virtual carbon metabolism of global cities

Authors

Chen,  S.
External Organizations;

Chen,  B.
External Organizations;

Feng,  K.
External Organizations;

Liu,  Z.
External Organizations;

Fromer,  N.
External Organizations;

Tan,  X.
External Organizations;

Alsaedi,  A.
External Organizations;

Hayat,  T.
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/Helga.Weisz

Weisz,  Helga
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

/persons/resource/emdir

Schellnhuber,  Hans Joachim
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Hubacek,  K.
External Organizations;

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Fulltext (public)

8643oa.pdf
(Publisher version), 2MB

Supplementary Material (public)
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Citation

Chen, S., Chen, B., Feng, K., Liu, Z., Fromer, N., Tan, X., Alsaedi, A., Hayat, T., Weisz, H., Schellnhuber, H. J., Hubacek, K. (2020): Physical and virtual carbon metabolism of global cities. - Nature Communications, 11, 182.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13757-3


Cite as: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_23409
Abstract
Urban activities have profound and lasting effects on the global carbon balance. Here we develop a consistent metabolic approach that combines two complementary carbon accounts, the physical carbon balance and the fossil fuel-derived gaseous carbon footprint, to track carbon coming into, being added to urban stocks, and eventually leaving the city. We find that over 88% of the physical carbon in 16 global cities is imported from outside their urban boundaries, and this outsourcing of carbon is notably amplified by virtual emissions from upstream activities that contribute 33–68% to their total carbon inflows. While 13–33% of the carbon appropriated by cities is immediately combusted and released as CO2, between 8 and 24% is stored in durable household goods or becomes part of other urban stocks. Inventorying carbon consumed and stored for urban metabolism should be given more credit for the role it can play in stabilizing future global climate.