Emission impacts of China's solid waste import ban and COVID-19 in the copper supply chain.
Nat Commun
; 12(1): 3753, 2021 06 18.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1275913
ABSTRACT
Climate change will increase the frequency and severity of supply chain disruptions and large-scale economic crises, also prompting environmentally protective local policies. Here we use econometric time series analysis, inventory-driven price formation, dynamic material flow analysis, and life cycle assessment to model each copper supply chain actor's response to China's solid waste import ban and the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that the economic changes associated with China's solid waste import ban increase primary refining within China, offsetting the environmental benefits of decreased copper scrap refining and generating a cumulative increase in CO2-equivalent emissions of up to 13 Mt by 2040. Increasing China's refined copper imports reverses this trend, decreasing CO2e emissions in China (up to 180 Mt by 2040) and globally (up to 20 Mt). We test sensitivity to supply chain disruptions using GDP, mining, and refining shocks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, showing the results translate onto disruption effects.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Carbon Dioxide
/
Solid Waste
/
Copper
/
Environmental Policy
/
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
Nat Commun
Journal subject:
Biology
/
Science
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S41467-021-23874-7
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