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Carbon emissions from urban takeaway delivery in China
Environmental Studies and Forestrynpj Urban Sustainability

Carbon emissions from urban takeaway delivery in China

Y. Zhong, S. Cui, et al.

This research quantifies the rapidly increasing greenhouse gas emissions from China's online food delivery industry, revealing that in 2019 alone, the industry generated 1.67 MtCO2e from 13.07 billion deliveries. With emissions projected to reach 5.94 MtCO2e by 2035, effective policy interventions could significantly mitigate this impact. This compelling study was conducted by Yiqiang Zhong, Shenghui Cui, Xuemei Bai, Wei Shang, Wei Huang, Lingxuan Liu, Shouyang Wang, Rongxuan Zhu, Yuanxiao Zhai, and Yin Zhang.... show more
GeneralSummaryMetrics
Abstract
Online food delivery has rapidly expanded in China under the Online-to-Offline (O2O) model, yet its environmental impacts remain underexplored. Using a model integrating multiple data sources, we estimate that Chinese cities generated 1.67 MtCO2e from 13.07 billion takeaway deliveries in 2019 (transport plus packaging). Transportation-related GHG emissions were 745 KtCO2e in 2019, averaging 0.057 kg CO2e per order and 0.011 kg CO2e per capita. Transportation emissions increased from 0.31 MtCO2e in 2014 to 2.74 MtCO2e in 2021 and are projected to reach 5.94 MtCO2e by 2035. Policy measures such as replacing motorcycles with electric bikes and optimizing delivery routes could mitigate 4.39–10.97 MtCO2e cumulatively between 2023 and 2035. These findings call for greater attention to the environmental impacts of O2O delivery and highlight opportunities for mitigation.
Publisher
npj Urban Sustainability
Published On
Jul 31, 2024
Authors
Yiqiang Zhong, Shenghui Cui, Xuemei Bai, Wei Shang, Wei Huang, Lingxuan Liu, Shouyang Wang, Rongxuan Zhu, Yuanxiao Zhai, Yin Zhang
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-024-00175-8
Tags
greenhouse gas emissionsonline food deliveryChinapolicy interventionssustainabilitytransportation
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