CO₂ emissions from Tibet and its cities in 2014

Because of its low level of energy consumption and the small scale of its industrial development, the Tibet Autonomous Region has historically been excluded from China’s reported energy statistics, including those regarding CO₂ emissions. We estimate Tibet and its seven cities’ energy consumption in 2014 using limited online documents for the first time. The results show that 5.52 million tons of CO₂ were emitted in Tibet in 2014; 33% of these emissions are associated with cement production. Tibet’s emissions per capita amounted to 1.74 tons in 2014, which is substantially lower than the national average, although Tibet’s emission intensity is relatively high at 0.60 tons per thousand yuan in 2014. Among Tibet’s seven cities, Lhasa City and Shannan Region are the two largest CO₂ contributors and have the highest per capita emissions and emission intensities. The Nagqu and Nyingchi regions emit little CO₂ due to their farming/pasturing-dominated economies. This quantitative measure of Tibet’s regional CO₂ emissions provides solid data support for Tibet’s actions on climate change and emission reductions.