Emergy based sustainability evaluation for Yunnan Province, China

Located in the far southeast China, Yunnan province has a unique position in terms of its biodiversity and resource endowment. However, this province is facing various challenges due to its fast development. In order to promote its sustainable development, an emergy accounting approach was employed to evaluate its sustainability for the year 2014. Temporal analysis of emergy-based indicators was also conducted to provide a holistic picture of Yunnan's economic performance. In addition, sensitivity analysis of dominant contributors was performed to improve the research reliability. Results show that the total emergy used for supporting Yunnan's economy was 1.24 × 10²⁴ sej in 2014 and its economy highly relied on indigenous metals (45%) and minerals (23%), as well as fuels imported to Yunnan province (12%). Emergy-based indicators reflect that economy development in Yunnan province was highly dependent on the local ecosystem, far away from sustainable development. Policy recommendations were provided in order to improve its sustainable development, such as promoting circular economy, adjusting industrial structure, developing renewable energy based on local resource endowment, and promoting capacity-building activities.