Temporal Changes and Environmental Imbalance of Carbon Transfer in China–Belt and Road Trade

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_74How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Belt and Road Initiative; Multi-Regional Input-Output; Carbon Leakage; China’s Trade-Related Emissions

Abstract

Against the backdrop of deepening trade integration within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this study investigates the evolution of embodied carbon transfers among BRI economies between 2015 and 2023. Using the EMERGING V2 multi-regional input-output database, we construct and analyze both total and net embodied carbon transfer matrices, with a focus on China’s role in the network. The results show that China consistently functions as the dominant net embodied carbon exporter, with its net carbon outflows to BRI partners more than doubling over the period, alongside a rising carbon leakage rate. These findings reveal a growing imbalance in the distribution of environmental pressures, where expanding trade volumes have been accompanied by a disproportionate concentration of production-side emissions in China. This study highlights the need for targeted policies to address uneven environmental impacts and advance equitable low-carbon development in the BRI region.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yinuo Jiang
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
TI  - Temporal Changes and Environmental Imbalance of Carbon Transfer in China–Belt and Road Trade
BT  - Proceedings of the 2026 8th International Conference on Economic Management and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 719
EP  - 727
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_74
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-777-4_74
ID  - Jiang2026
ER  -