Urban Carbon Emissions (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Climatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1610

Special Issue Editors


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State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Interests: urban ecological environment; economic environmental management; environmental risk assessment; urban ecological planning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Interests: industrial carbon emission evaluation; environment–energy system simulation; energy–water nexus analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is the second volume of the Special Issue entitled "Urban Carbon Emissions”, which was published in Atmosphere in 2025: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/atmosphere/special_issues/4BEV0OP6BV.

As the world undergoes rapid urbanization, the volume of carbon emissions from urban production and consumption activities has been escalating swiftly, posing a substantial impact on the global climate and environment. The study of urban carbon emissions aids in a better understanding of their sources and characteristics, enabling the development of appropriate policies and measures to reduce emissions and promote sustainable urban development. This is especially crucial in rapidly developing countries, where urbanization and industrialization are progressing swiftly, resulting in a rapid surge in carbon emissions. Moreover, there is a pressing need for more efficient and environmentally friendly energy sources and technologies to encourage the adoption of renewable energy and to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas. Both production-related and consumption-related carbon emissions are key components of urban carbon emissions. To mitigate urban carbon emissions, comprehensive measures must be implemented, such as optimizing industrial structures, promoting clean energy, advocating for low-carbon lifestyles, reinforcing policy guidance, and fostering international cooperation. Consequently, studying urban carbon emissions is essential for enhancing energy conservation and resource utilization efficiency and for achieving sustainable development. This Special Issue explores the intricate relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability, with a specific focus on carbon emissions in urban settings. It will concentrate on and highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with the transition to low-carbon and net-zero carbon cities.

Prof. Dr. Linyu Xu
Dr. Lei Chen
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • urbanization
  • carbon emissions
  • carbon footprints
  • resource and environmental management
  • energy consumption
  • city level

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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34 pages, 8787 KB  
Article
Spatial–Temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Carbon Emissions in Shrinking Cities: A Case Study of the Three Northeastern Provinces in China
by Yuyi Zhao, Yueyan Xu, Jiuyan Zhou and Wenjun Zhao
Atmosphere 2025, 16(12), 1367; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16121367 - 1 Dec 2025
Viewed by 185
Abstract
Shrinking cities are generally experiencing decreases in population, economic activity, and spatial expansion. However, whether this “low-growth” trajectory leads to an actual reduction in carbon emissions or is constrained by carbon lock-in effects and the complex interaction between urban shrinkage and carbon emissions [...] Read more.
Shrinking cities are generally experiencing decreases in population, economic activity, and spatial expansion. However, whether this “low-growth” trajectory leads to an actual reduction in carbon emissions or is constrained by carbon lock-in effects and the complex interaction between urban shrinkage and carbon emissions remains unclear. To address this gap, this study examines 34 shrinking cities of the three northeastern provinces in China, utilizing nighttime light data to identify the spatial–temporal patterns of carbon emissions from a multidimensional perspective. Additionally, it explores the key drivers behind these emissions. Results show the following: (1) Spatiotemporally, carbon emissions are closely linked to shrinking cities, which also exhibit spatial–temporal heterogeneity. (2) There is a significant negative spatial correlation between carbon emissions and urban shrinkage degree (SD), with HL clusters (high–low clusters) and LH clusters (low–high clusters) being the main clustering types. (3) Through population, economic, and social driving factors, this paper identifies three synergistic effects shaping spatial–temporal carbon heterogeneity: passive reduction in economic scale (scale effect), volatility effect of structural transformation (structure effect), and spatial–institutional carbon lock-in (lock-in effect). The findings offer new insights into the low-carbon transition potential of shrinking cities and provide a basis for developing targeted policy frameworks to facilitate their sustainable transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Carbon Emissions (2nd Edition))
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28 pages, 3057 KB  
Article
Exploring the Role of Energy Consumption Structure and Digital Transformation in Urban Logistics Carbon Emission Efficiency
by Yanfeng Guan, Junding Yang, Rong Wang, Ling Zhang and Mingcheng Wang
Atmosphere 2025, 16(8), 929; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16080929 - 31 Jul 2025
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Abstract
As the climate problem is getting more and more serious and the “low-carbon revolution” of globalization is emerging, the logistics industry, as a high-end service industry, must also take the road of low-carbon development. Improving logistics carbon emission efficiency (LCEE) is gradually becoming [...] Read more.
As the climate problem is getting more and more serious and the “low-carbon revolution” of globalization is emerging, the logistics industry, as a high-end service industry, must also take the road of low-carbon development. Improving logistics carbon emission efficiency (LCEE) is gradually becoming an inevitable choice to maintain sustainable social development. The study uses the Super-SBM (Super-Slack-Based Measure) model to evaluate the urban LCEE from 2013 to 2022, explores the contribution of efficiency changes and technological progress to LCEE through the decomposition of the GML (Global Malmquist–Luenberger) index, and reveals the influence of digital transformation and energy consumption structure on LCEE by using the Spatial Durbin Model, concluding as follows: (1) LCEE declines from east to west, with large regional differences. (2) LCEE has steadily increased over the past decade, with slower growth from east to west. It fell in 2020 due to COVID-19 but has since recovered. (3) LCEE shows a catching-up effect among the three major regions, with technological progress being a key driver of improvement. (4) LCEE has significant spatial dependence. Energy consumption structure has a short-term negative spillover effect, while digital transformation has a positive spillover effect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Carbon Emissions (2nd Edition))
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Review

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26 pages, 5729 KB  
Review
Mapping Research on Government Actions and Carbon Emissions: A Bibliometric Science-Mapping (2010–2025)
by Meiling Hong and Lei Chen
Atmosphere 2025, 16(12), 1348; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16121348 - 28 Nov 2025
Viewed by 250
Abstract
This study maps how the scholarly literature examines government actions in relation to carbon emissions, rather than estimating the impact of specific policies. We conduct a bibliometric science-mapping using the Web of Science Core Collection (2010–25 June 2025). After de-duplication, the corpus comprises [...] Read more.
This study maps how the scholarly literature examines government actions in relation to carbon emissions, rather than estimating the impact of specific policies. We conduct a bibliometric science-mapping using the Web of Science Core Collection (2010–25 June 2025). After de-duplication, the corpus comprises 2212 publications. Using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrix, we address three questions: (i) How have outputs, actors, and collaborations evolved? (ii) Which journals, authors, and works structure the field? (iii) How have research themes developed over time? We find sustained growth in publications, persistent cores around carbon pricing and regulatory approaches, and emerging clusters on carbon neutrality, innovation/green finance, and urbanization. To contextualize quantity with quality, we report age-adjusted citations (citations per year) and journal-quartile summaries for key units. A calibration subsample of citation contexts suggests that highly cited works are referenced both in substantive analytical ways and as passing mentions. Scope: This is a descriptive mapping; we do not present primary empirical data or causal estimates of policy effects. Implications: This review identifies concentrations, gaps, and research fronts to guide future empirical evaluations of policy effectiveness and cross-disciplinary work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Carbon Emissions (2nd Edition))
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