China’s economic growth over recent years has led to high CO2 emissions according to an article from the Brookings Institution. This is also down to increasing urbanization in the country, which is accompanied by greater CO2 emissions. China needs solutions if it hopes to continue this growth while achieving its “ambitious climate goals”. Greater density in cities could be one such solution according to the research institute.
The article states that per capita emissions are actually lower in denser cities than they are in those that are less dense. The Brookings Institution refers to data from the World Bank with regard to this. This data states that China is also the only country in East Asia where density is falling, since city boundaries are growing. For example, if the Chinese city of Guangzhou had the same density as Seoul, Guangzhou could accommodate 4.2 million more people.
At a greater density, the per capita CO2 emissions of China’s ten largest cities would fall by around 7 percent. In light of the estimation that there will be 80 million people moving to cities in China in the next decade alone, greater density is an important option.
