Modular System Design of a Green Travel Carbon Credit Module under the "Dual Carbon" Goals

Abstract

Against the backdrop of China's continuous advancement of the "Dual Carbon" strategy, low-carbon governance at the consumption end has become a pivotal breakthrough point for the green transformation of the transportation sector. The green travel carbon credit system serves as a crucial vehicle for guiding the public toward proactive emission reduction and fostering a nationwide low-carbon paradigm. Currently, the implementation of green travel carbon credit systems in China faces common challenges, including fragmented institutional standards, simplistic incentive mechanisms, insufficient public participation, and the absence of a collaborative governance framework. Furthermore, existing research often focuses primarily on the development of technical algorithms while neglecting human-centered empowerment and social governance value. This paper adopts a humanities-and social sciences-oriented perspective, drawing upon foundations in public governance, environmental behavior studies, and incentive theory, and employs literature review, policy text analysis, and case study methods to systematically examine the current state and practical pain points of green travel carbon credit policies in China. Based on these findings, this paper constructs a modular green travel carbon credit system comprising five core functional modules and two supporting guarantee modules, while clarifying the system's design principles, overall architecture, module functions, and closed-loop operational logic. This system eschews the technocratic approach, instead centering on inclusive equity, behavioral guidance, and collaborative governance, while simultaneously addressing the protection of public rights and interests, the dissemination of low-carbon culture, and multi-stakeholder collaborative governance—thereby effectively addressing the governance shortcomings inherent in traditional carbon credit systems. The study demonstrates that such a modular carbon credit system can effectively guide the public toward low-carbon travel behaviors, enhance the carbon governance framework at the consumption end, and cultivate a green and low-carbon social ethos; it provides replicable theoretical references and practical solutions for the implementation of carbon-inclusive travel systems across various regions and for the low-carbon governance of urban transportation, thereby facilitating the realization of the "Dual Carbon" goals within the realm of people's livelihoods.