LowCarbon Transition Pathways in China’s Yangtze River Delta Emissions, Drivers, and Regional Governance

This book offers actionable, evidence-based insights into advancing low-carbon transitions in China, focusing on the Yangtze River Delta (YRD)—a core economic engine and national pilot for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. It applies an integrated framework of status assessment, mechanism analysis, trend forecasting, and policy design, combining empirical data with quantitative approaches such as the Environmental Kuznets Curve, STIRPAT models, and machine learning methods. Distinct from broad national studies, the book develops a detailed greenhouse gas emission inventory for the YRD, revealing sectoral and spatiotemporal emission patterns and forecasting future trajectories under multiple scenarios. Its region-specific focus ensures that findings reflect the YRD’s unique economic structure, energy dependence, and governance context, while maintaining strong methodological rigor. The content spans four pillars: regional economic and energy characteristics; carbon accounting and driver decomposition; emission trend and peak forecasting across three provinces and one municipality; and policy design, including interregional carbon trading, sink-based compensation, and pollution–carbon reduction synergies. Written for policymakers, researchers, and advanced students in climate governance and environmental economics, this book provides a data-driven, policy-oriented framework with strong relevance for regional low-carbon development worldwide.