Uncovering the effects of external demand on China’s coal consumption: A global input–output analysis

China, the world’s largest exporter of goods, burns nearly half of coal worldwide. Moreover, the main fuel source of global carbon emissions is still coal. Therefore, controlling China’s coal consumption is critical to global emissions reductions. Existing production-based accounting principles emphasize on the direct coal use within the geographic territory, while ignoring indirect use driven by external demand in worldwide trading. Through...