城市贸易隐含碳转移及碳补偿研究OACHSSCD

Clarifying the relationships of inter-city carbon transfer patterns is a crucial fundamental prerequisite for establishing an equitable and efficient carbon compensation mechanism and for promoting coordinated regional efforts in emissions reduction.Based on the construction of multi-regional input-output(MRIO)tables for cities in the Pearl River Basin in 2012 and 2017,this study quantified the embodied carbon transfers in inter-city trade and further constructed a complex network to characterize the structural features of carbon transfers across urban systems.Meanwhile,city-level carbon compensation amounts were subsequently estimated from the perspective of embodied carbon transfer.To further enhance both the accuracy and fairness of the compensation framework,the model was refined by incorporating differences in technological capacity and economic development levels across cities.The results showed that:(1)Over the study period,embodied carbon transfers showed significant spatial heterogeneity across cities in the Pearl River Basin.A distinct spatial pattern emerged,characterized by a"downstream-outflow,upstream-inflow"pattern,in which downstream cities predominantly acted as net exporters of embodied carbon,while upstream cities tended to absorb higher levels of transferred emissions.(2)The inter-city carbon transfer network of the Pearl River Basin exhibited the structural properties of a small-world network.Over time,the inter-city carbon transfer pathways shifted from primarily intra-provincial concentration toward broader inter-regional connectivity.This evolution indicated that the potential for coordinated emission reductions across the region had been gradually strengthened.(3)The aggregate scale of carbon compensation among cities in the Pearl River Basin increased significantly during the study period.Spatially,a clear compensation pattern emerged in which downstream cities provided compensation payments to upstream cities,reflecting the spatially asymmetric distribution of carbon compensation responsibilities.(4)After adjusting the compensation model to account for disparities in technological capacity and economic development,the results revealed that cities with more advanced technological capacity and stronger economic bases tend to bear comparatively reduced compensation burdens.Conversely,less-developed cities with lower technological capacity and weaker economic foundations assumed relatively greater compensation responsibilities.Such an adjustment reshaped the overall carbon compensation structure in the Pearl River Basin,which moved toward a more equitable distribution,aligning carbon responsibilities more closely with local developmental realities and capacities.This study also proposed differentiated policy recommendations tailored to the specific conditions of cities in the Pearl River Basin.The results of this study can provide practical reference for improving the understanding of embodied carbon transfers and compensation incentives,while also informing the formulation of fairer and more effective urban carbon compensation policies.