Carbon emission intensity of electricity generation in Belt and Road Initiative countries: a benchmarking analysis

The scope of this study is to analyze the carbon emissions intensity of electricity generation in “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) countries. The total CO2 emissions from electricity generation in BRI nations increases from 4232.34 Mt in 2013 to 4402.38 Mt in 2015, accounting for 34.45% of global CO2 emissions from electricity generation. Logarithmic mean Divisia index methodology is applied to analyze the drivers of carbon emissions intensity in BRI nations. The decomposition results revealed that the regional carbon emissions intensity in BRI nations increases during 2013–2015 and the power generation efficiency is the essential factor to improve carbon emissions performance in BRI developing countries. For BRI developing countries, promoting clean and efficient thermal power is a pragmatic priority for green power development.