The carbon dioxide emission in Shanghai from the year 2001 to 2011 was computed,and its correlation with the three economy sectors was analyzed by using the Grey Relational Analysis method.The results show that the correlation coefficient between tertiary industry and carbon emission is the biggest,while that between primary industry and carbon emission is the smallest.The suggestions from the angles of politics,economy as well as society to foster a low-carbon economy in Shanghai were put foruard based on energy cost intensity analysis.