A major peer-reviewed study published this week in Nature Cities maps last-mile delivery emissions across 365 Chinese cities using data from 14 billion orders and 1.9 million couriers. The research finds that order growth does not translate proportionally into emissions: an 83.5% increase in orders from 2023 to 2024 resulted in only a 31.3% rise in emissions.
While larger cities produce higher total emissions, smaller cities show per-order emissions up to four times higher, driven primarily by lower delivery efficiency due to urban density. The study identifies substantial room for improvement. Mitigation simulations suggest that emissions could be reduced by up to 84.2%. The findings offer actionable insight for city planners and logistics operators worldwide on where to focus decarbonization efforts.
Source: Nature