The international literature has paid significant attention to presenting China as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the world, despite having much lower per-capita emissions than the global average. In fact, the imbalance of economic development leads to diversity in GHG emissions profiles in different areas of China. This paper employs a common methodology, consistent with the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) approved by the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), to estimate CO2 emissions of four Chinese cities in highly urbanized areas from 2004 to 2010. The results show that the CO2 emissions of all four cities are still rising and that secondary industries emit the most CO2 in these cities. By comparing these data with the inventory results of two European cities, this paper further reveals that Chinese cities in highly urbanized areas contribute much higher per-capita emissions than their European competitors. Furthermore, the per-capita CO2 emissions of the residential sector and private transport in these Chinese cities are growing rapidly, some of them approaching the levels of European cities. According to these findings, several policy suggestions considering regional disparities are provided that aim to reduce the CO2 emissions of highly urbanized areas in China. (C) 201 2 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.