Analysis of carbon emission intensity as the main index for greenhouse gas emission mitigation commitments

In response to concerns put forward by the US government, decreases of greenhouse gas emissions could be used as a basis for emission reduction commitments. This paper identifies the dominant factors influencing decreases in greenhouse gas emissions. Quantitative analyses of historical trends were used to identify the relationships between decreases rate of greenhouse gas emissions and the GDP growth rate, between carbon emission elasticity and the GDP, and between the energy consumption intensity and the carbon content of the energy supply. Analysis of the effect of the carbon content on the economic development of different countries with different economic structures shows that the carbon emission intensity can reflect their contribution to climate change for developing countries, but for developed countries, a single index reflecting the carbon emissions is not enough and other factors must be considered to determine whether the carbon emission intensity reduction is faster than the GDP growth.