As urban lifestyles accelerate and consumers increasingly demand rapid delivery services, the true cost of convenience is coming into sharper focus. Express delivery in China, a sector thriving on the boom of e-commerce, has emerged as a significant contributor to environmental pollution and public health challenges. Recent research reveals that the rapid expansion of express parcel transport is not just an economic phenomenon but a phenomenon with profound cross-regional environmental and societal implications, highlighting a troubling disparity in emission burdens and health outcomes.
In 2021 alone, China’s express delivery sector was responsible for approximately 23.9 million metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions, an alarming figure that underscores the sector’s vast carbon footprint. Beyond greenhouse gases, this network of road-based logistics emitted atmospheric pollutants equivalent to about 166,400 metric tons, contributing to degraded air quality and exacerbating respiratory and cardiovascular health issues across the population. These figures reflect only a portion of the sector’s true environmental externalities, which ripple disproportionately across various geographic regions.
What’s particularly striking about this analysis is the mismatch between parcel throughput and the geographic distribution of emissions. Certain key transit hubs, despite handling a mere 12.7% of parcels nationwide, accounted for an outsized 37.3% of total emissions. These transit regions function as logistical chokepoints that link major urban agglomerations, but they bear the brunt of pollution generated both locally and by shipments destined for other parts of the country. This creates a dynamic where transport and logistics pollution is spatially concentrated, amplifying local environmental degradation and public health risks.
The health consequences associated with this concentrated pollution are dire. In 2021, pollution from express delivery activities led to an estimated 5,100 premature deaths, disproportionately concentrated in these major transit areas. Shockingly, over 75% of air-pollution-related premature mortalities in these regions were caused by delivery activities originating from outside the affected localities. This spatial disconnect signals a clear inequity, where some regions are burdened with health costs they have not directly contributed to through local parcel generation, revealing a need for policy interventions that recognize and address cross-regional pollution externalities.
The methodology employed by researchers integrates vast shipping records with geospatial transport modeling and sophisticated atmospheric chemical transport simulations, enabling precise attribution of emissions and associated health impacts at multiple geographic scales. This approach moves beyond coarse national or provincial aggregates and uncovers complex spatial patterns invisible in traditional assessments. By doing so, it equips policymakers and stakeholders with a nuanced understanding of the environmental and health inequalities embedded in China’s logistics landscape.
These findings arrive at a pivotal moment for China’s urban and environmental policies. Express delivery services, while revolutionizing commerce and lifestyle by enabling near-instantaneous deliveries, are exacting a heavy toll on environmental sustainability. The industry’s exponential growth demands urgent attention to sustainable logistics solutions that can reconcile economic growth, consumer convenience, and environmental stewardship.
In light of the significant health and environmental impacts documented, the researchers advocate for comprehensive mitigation strategies that integrate clean energy adoption, route optimization, and logistics decentralization. These approaches could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant release, thereby mitigating the health burden. Advanced electrification of delivery fleets, incorporating renewable energy sources, and optimizing last-mile delivery through smart urban planning are poised as critical pillars for reform.
Perhaps most strikingly, scenario analyses forecast that implementing combined mitigation efforts over the next three decades could prevent more than 256,000 premature deaths by 2050. This potential for massive public health gains underscores the scalability and urgency of interventions. It also demonstrates the profound social benefits that can be reaped when environmental policies intersect effectively with urban transport and logistics management.
The spatial inequality highlighted in this study also challenges conventional notions of environmental justice within China’s rapidly urbanizing context. Regions acting as transit corridors, often less economically developed and with fewer resources to combat pollution, face disproportionate health risks. Addressing this inequity requires redistributive environmental governance, where the benefits and burdens of technological and economic progress are more equitably shared across space and communities.
Furthermore, the research shines a spotlight on the intertwined nature of urban convenience and rural or peripheral environmental health. The demand for next-day or same-day delivery in megacities exerts pressure on distant transit regions, linking consumer behavior in affluent urban centers to pollution and health risks in less advantaged areas. This calls for integrated urban-rural policy frameworks that recognize the systemic interdependencies within supply chain logistics.
Technological and data-driven innovations will be critical in this endeavor. The use of big data analytics, real-time emissions monitoring, and adaptive routing algorithms can reduce unnecessary mileage and optimize freight flows. Governments and industries alike must invest in such technologies alongside regulatory mechanisms that incentivize lower emissions and penalize hotspots of disproportionate pollution generation.
The research also prompts a fundamental reassessment of urban planning priorities. Concentrating freight transit infrastructure in fewer but more efficient hubs, integrating public transit and freight corridors, and fostering multi-modal logistics systems could alleviate congestion, reduce emissions, and improve urban air quality. These strategies necessitate cross-sectoral coordination and long-term planning beyond traditional urban-rural divides.
International implications abound, as China’s express delivery market mirrors trends seen in other rapidly developing economies. Understanding and modeling the environmental impacts of this logistics sector may serve as a blueprint for global urban centers grappling with balancing e-commerce expansion and environmental sustainability. Lessons learned in the Chinese context can inform policy and innovation worldwide, accelerating the shift towards greener urban logistics.
In conclusion, the explosive growth of express delivery services in China is a double-edged sword: enabling unprecedented consumer convenience while inflating the environmental and health burdens shouldered disproportionately by transit hubs and surrounding populations. The pioneering spatially explicit assessment methodology developed in this study reveals these inequities and quantifies their human toll. It also offers tangible pathways for mitigation that align environmental sustainability with economic vitality.
As e-commerce continues to boom globally, policymakers, industry leaders, and urban planners must heed these insights and act decisively. Investing in clean technologies, optimizing logistics networks, and ensuring equitable distribution of benefits and burdens will be vital to forging an urban future where convenience no longer comes at the expense of human health and the environment.
Subject of Research: Environmental burden and health inequity associated with road-based express delivery logistics in China.
Article Title: Environmental burden and health inequity in China’s road-based express delivery.
Article References:
Li, B., Liao, H., Li, K. et al. Environmental burden and health inequity in China’s road-based express delivery. Nat Cities (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44284-025-00300-3
Image Credits: AI Generated
