Energy-dominated carbon metabolism: A case study of Hubei province, China

•A system input-output method is used to assess energy-dominated carbon metabolism.•Direct CO2 metabolism inventories in 2002, 2005 and 2007 for Hubei are established.•CO2 metabolism embodied in consumption and trade is further estimated for Hubei.

As the largest CO2 emitter, China sets regional CO2 emission intensity reduction targets to distribute the tremendous emission reduction pressure. Therefore, a deep understanding of China's regional CO2 metabolism, especially emission level is essential for achieving the emission mitigation target. From the production versus consumption perspectives, this paper uses Hubei as a case study to establish a concrete direct energy-dominated CO2 metabolism inventory in 2002, 2005 and 2007, and further estimate CO2 metabolism embodied in consumption and trade based on a system ecological input–output analysis. The comparison of production- and consumption-based CO2 metabolism depicts a huge difference: the consumption-based CO2 emissions are just 31.02%, 24.77% and 31.04% of the production-based CO2 emissions in 2002, 2005 and 2007, which demonstrates that Hubei needs to share responsibilities both as a producer and a consumer, focusing not only on the improvement of production technology and energy efficiency but also on the adjustment of economic system structure and trade policies avoiding carbon leakage. Analysis of historical tendency presents that production- and consumption-based CO2 metabolism of 2002–2005–2007 both experience an increasing trend, while the average embodied intensity of these three years shows a decreasing trend. In terms of trade balance, Hubei is a net CO2 exporter of 0.36E + 07 t, 0.08E + 07 t and 1.11E + 07 t CO2 in 2002, 2005 and 2007.