The Carbon Mitigation “Time-Space-Efficiency-Benefit” (TSEB) Coordination Theory: IV. Benefit Coordination

Faced with the significant damages caused by climate change and the high costs associated with mitigation actions, balancing economic development and mitigation within a multi-period multi-agent framework has become a critical issue in global climate governance. As part of the series of papers on the carbon mitigation “Time-Space-Efficiency-Benefit” (TSEB) coordination theory, this paper proposes a benefit coordination theory. On the basis of integrating the relevant theories of time coordination, space coordination, and efficiency coordination, the theory takes optimal economic growth as the core and integrates the issue of carbon emissions into long-term macroeconomic analysis, deeply exploring the complex relationship between economic development and mitigation actions. We construct the China’s Climate Change Integrated Assessment Model with bidirectional coupling of economy and climate and design a multi-regional intertemporal welfare optimization function to realize the coordination between economic development and mitigation actions. Based on the carbon mitigation “Time-Space-Efficiency-Benefit” (TSEB) coordination theory, China’s Climate Change Integrated Assessment Model is applied to identify future optimal mitigation pathways at the global and regional levels. It also proposes mitigation task allocation schemes for different countries and within countries, scientifically answering the key questions of carbon emission reduction system engineering, such as the optimal timing of reductions, the scale of reductions, the responsible parties, the methods of reduction, and the expected outcomes, which provides a methodological basis for coordinating economic development and carbon mitigation.