Abstract
The household sector consumes a large amount of goods and services and is therefore a major source of global carbon emissions. This study aims to analyze per person household carbon emission (HCEs) patterns of urban and rural China over the period from 1995 to 2011. Annual macroeconomic data for the study were obtained from authentic Chinese government sources. Direct HCE estimates for each fossil fuel were obtained using the IPCC’s reference approach, and indirect HCEs were calculated by input-output analysis. In 1995, per person HCEs from direct sources for urban and rural China were 0.50 tCO2 and 0.22 tCO2, respectively; by 2011, these values had increased to 0.60 tCO2 and 0.61 tCO2, an increase of 20% and 177.27%, respectively. Similarly, in 1995, per person HCEs from indirect sources for urban and rural China were 0.43 tCO2 and 0.16 tCO2, respectively; by 2011, these values had increased to 1.77 tCO2 and 0.53 tCO2, respectively, an increase of 306% and 235%. The reasons for these differences and the sets of policies required to rectify increasing emissions are discussed. If current trends and practices continue, with a RMB1000 increase in per capita income from 2011 levels, per person HCEs in urban and rural China will increase by 0.119 tCO2 and 0.197 tCO2, respectively. This result indicates that the sector of society which is most vulnerable will contribute most to China’s increasing HCEs. Therefore, while developing energy consumption and emissions reduction policies and programs, principles of fairness and equity need to be followed.
Highlights
The household sector consumes a large amount of goods and services [1,2], accounting for >70% of the final consumption expenditure, whereas the government sector accounts for only 30% [3]
This study aims to analyze per person Household Carbon Emission (HCEs) patterns of urban and rural China over the 17 year period from 1995 to 2011
Annual data for urban and rural areas such as household size, per capita income, population, and household consumption of different types of direct and indirect good and services were obtained from 17 volumes of: (1) China
Summary
The household sector consumes a large amount of goods and services [1,2], accounting for >70% of the final consumption expenditure, whereas the government sector accounts for only 30% [3]. Several studies have quantified household consumption patterns for various countries including The Netherlands [4], Denmark [5], India [6], 11 member states of European Union [7], USA [8], Brazil [9], South Korea [10], Japan [11], Spain [12], and China [1,2,13,14,15] Some of these studies have reported the ratio of household energy consumption to the national energy consumption. China is currently the world’s second largest economy, largest trading economy, second largest destination of foreign direct investment and the largest manufacturer This rapid progress has come with costs, such as unprecedented environmental pollution, huge energy consumption, and carbon emissions [17]. In response to the call of the UNFCCC conference in Copenhagen and Cancún, China has pledged to cut its carbon intensity by 40%–45% by 2020 from the 2005 level [17]
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