Dominant Sector of Embodied Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in Beijing

Unreasonable energy structure and socioeconomic activities are coupled with an adverse effect on air quality conditions in China. In this paper, Input-output analysis (IOA) and Ecological network analysis (ENA) are combined to investigate the embodied PM2.5 emissions that result from the current monetary flows and energy structure. The results show that, in 2010, 34 percent of the total PM2.5 emissions, or 59.4kt PM2.5, were indirect emissions traded through economic sectors within Beijing. Based on the results of ENA, we found that “Smelting & Pressing of Metals”, “Metal Products” and “Nonmetal Mineral Products” are the top three sectors with the highest control levels while “Agriculture”, “Catering Services” and “Residential Services” are the lowest-ranking sectors among the system. Distributing the indirect emissions to original sector and identifying the control relationship of each sector provide a new point of view on formulating impartial and effective polices of alleviating the air pollution.