GHG emission assessment of Chinese container terminals: a hybrid approach of IPCC and input-output analysis

With the rapid development of the shipping industry in China, environmental issues in the industry such as energy consumption and energy‐related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been increased continuously. As the important hubs of the international shipping industry and the large contributor of the GHG emissions, container terminals have attracted an extensive attention by the Chinese government. However, how to evaluate the total GHG emission by container terminals is still a challenge. In this paper, a comprehensive assessment method of GHG emission for Chinese container terminals is developed by utilising the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method and input‐output analysis. Results indicate that the GHG emissions are mainly generated by the use of the fossil fuel, but the indirect GHG emissions from production of electricity and heat, waste treatment and inputs are also important contributors which account for more than 40% of the total emission in three cases of Chinese container terminals. Such research findings propose that the GHG emission assessment method can help make appropriate polices and measures for GHG emission reduction in the Chinese container terminals.