Abstract：With industrialization and urbanization, energy security and man-made environmental change become a global concern. After world financial crisis, international negotiations and dialogues on transitions of development pattern and response to climate change have been made. It is necessary to rethink the significant issues of development and environmental protection. In this context, low-carbon development patterns of which the characteristics are lower energy consumption, lower carbon emission, less pollution and higher effectiveness have been widely pursued by many international societies, national states and environmental non-governmental organizations who are trying to approach theoretical formation and practical development on low carbon. This paper reviews related researches on low carbon from several perspectives including "theories and values", "macro-level carbon emission and its drivers", "low-carbon economics and strategies for decarbonisation", "micro-level carbon emission and low-carbon lifestyle", "low-carbon urban development and spatial planning". Based on the literature review, the authors evaluate existing studies on low carbon from four aspects which are "the relationship between theories and practices", "the differences between developed countries' and domestic topical subjects", "the losses of research scales", and "the exploration of mechanisms for carbon emission". Finally, the authors suggest that the further researches should focus on comprehensive analysis of carbon emission mechanism; statistics and estimations of urban carbon emission; urban low-carbon construction and development; limitations and obstacles of new environmental policy instruments for downscaling; analysis of implications and outcomes of global change on resilience, vulnerability and adaptation of objects and systems studied.
解利剑, 周素红, 闫小培. 国内外“低碳发展”研究进展及展望[J]. 人文地理, 2011, 26(1): 19-23,70.
XIE Li-jian, ZHOU Su-hong, YAN Xiao-pei. A REVIEW AND OUTLOOK OF THE STUDY ON LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA AND OVERSEAS. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, 2011, 26(1): 19-23,70.
