Towards a Carbon–Neutral City: Responsible Underground Space Use in China

Although cities occupy only about 2% of the land surface, they consume approximately 70% of the world’s resources and energy and emit 70% of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Carbon–neutral development goals have already been established in more than 400 cities and organizations, and China has set the goal of reaching a carbon peak before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. As a promising spatial resource, underground spaces in China can provide stable and sufficient spatial support for various emission reduction and sink enhancement measures, which are of great significance for achieving the goal of carbon–neutral development. This study aims to construct an implementation pathway and typical modes for underground spaces in China for a carbon–neutral city and provide theoretical guidance for carbon–neutral-oriented urban planning and urban underground space planning.