Empirical research on household carbon emissions characteristics and key impact factors in mining areas

Digital infrastructure construction and household energy efficiency: Based on a quasi-natural experiment in China

Urban communities are important sector for energy saving and emission reduction. Characterization of household carbon emission is critical to the planning of low-carbon communities. Taking data from five communities in Nanjing, China as the empirical research object, this study explores the relationship between household consumer activities and direct carbon emission of household energy consumption based on the Consumer Lifestyle Approach. Using regression analysis, we identify the characteristics of the emission and the four most significant impact factors. Adaptive low carbon strategies are further suggested as how to influence consumer activities by planning of urban communities.

Household carbon emissions are important components of total carbon emissions. The consumer side of energy-saving emissions reduction is an essential factor in reducing carbon emissions. In this paper, the carbon emissions coefficient method and Consumer Lifestyle Approach (CLA) were used to calculate the total carbon emissions of households in 30 provinces of China from 2006 to 2015, and based on the extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model, the factors influencing the total carbon emissions of households were analyzed. The results indicated that, first, over the past ten years, the energy and products carbon emissions from China’s households have demonstrated a rapid growth trend and that regional distributions present obvious differences. Second, China’s energy carbon emissions due to household consumption primarily derived from the residents’ consumption of electricity and coal; China’s products household carbon emissions primarily derived from residents’ consumption of the high carbon emission categories: residences, food, transportation and communications. Third, in terms of influencing factors, the number of households in China plays a significant role in the total carbon emissions of China’s households. The ratio of children 0–14 years old and gender ratio (female = 100) are two factors that reflect the demographic structure, have significant effects on the total carbon emissions of China’s households, and are all positive. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita plays a role in boosting the total carbon emissions of China’s households. The effect of the carbon emission intensity on total household carbon emissions is positive. The industrial structure (the proportion of secondary industries’ added value to the regional GDP) has curbed the growth of total carbon emissions from China’s household consumption. The results of this study provide data to support the assessment of the total carbon emissions of China’s households and provide a reasonable reference that the government can use to formulate energy-saving and emission-reduction measures.

With the booming development of the digital economy, its impact on household consumption patterns and carbon emission behaviors has received increasing attention. This study quantitatively analyzes the relationship between the development of digital economy and household carbon emissions using data from the 2010-2020 China Family Tracking Survey (CFPS) in Shanghai. It is found that the development of digital economy significantly contributes to the upgrading of household consumption structure, especially the increase of developmental and enjoyment consumption, while the proportion of survival consumption gradually decreases. Household income is a key factor influencing the upgrading of the consumption structure, the application of digital technology has had a profound impact on household consumption behavior, and the green consumption trend has gradually become a new trend in household consumption. This study also explores the heterogeneous impacts of the digital economy on household carbon emissions and proposes corresponding policy recommendations to promote the green development of the digital economy and the low-carbon transition of household consumption. The findings provide new perspectives for understanding the environmental impacts of the digital economy and have important theoretical and practical implications for the formulation of environmentally friendly policies.

Household carbon emissions (HCEs) in urban communities are significant sources of China’s total carbon emissions and contribute to global warming and climate change dramatically. This study aims to estimate the HCEs and investigate their influential factors based on a total of 185 household survey data collected from three typical types of urban communities in Beijing: traditional communities, unit communities, and commercial housing communities with the application of the consumer lifestyle approach analysis and econometrics model. The results show that unit communities contribute to the highest direct carbon emissions and the commercial housing communities produce the most indirect carbon emissions, with the traditional communities emitting the lowest carbon emissions both directly and indirectly. The highest direct carbon emissions of households are found in unit communities at 723.79 kgCO2 per month, followed by commercial communities at 580.01 kgCO2, and finally the traditional communities with 526.44 kgCO2 direct carbon emissions monthly. And the highest monthly indirect carbon emissions of households are found in commercial communities at 707.70 kgCO2, followed by unit communities at 669.38 kgCO2, and finally with 554.85 kgCO2 indirect carbon emissions monthly in traditional communities. It concludes that the community type affects HCE characteristics and their driving factors significantly. Household income, household population, and the ownership of cars increase HCE in more than one type of community. Scientific research work-related population, community environment satisfaction, housing area have positive effects, while community convenience has negative impacts on HCEs in one certain type of community. Policy implications tailored to general and specific community types are proposed as the guidance of carbon reduction and community transformation finally. This study contributes to the understanding of the impact of community attributes on HCEs and proposes some methods for microregional carbon emission reduction and the ecological transformation of urban communities.

Mechanisms and effects of the upgrading of consumption structure on household carbon emissions -evidence from the yangtze river economic belt.

Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle of the Chinas east coast. The triangular shaped territory of Shanghai and the adjoining Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, called Yangtze River Delta, constitute one of Chinas major economic regions. The urban structure of Shanghai is characterized by three circular spatial units shaped by the inner and outer ring roads. Within the inner ring road, the four central districts make up the city core. Next to the city core are the five districts extending to but still within the outer ring road. With the explosion of urban population and private cars, household daily-travel carbon emissions have increased year by year. Therefore, policies to reduce daily-travel carbon emissions became an important topic in urban planning. Based on 1,054 questionnaires of Shanghai households travel characteristics and details of population and economic activity, it is apparent that household carbon emissions from daily-travel vary with different residential locations, housing types and income levels.

The effect of the elderly and child care on household carbon emissions

Global warming has caused concern among countries worldwide. Since 2010, the Chinese government has implemented low-carbon pilot policies (LCPPs) in some regions to control carbon emissions. To evaluate the implementation effects of the LCPPs, we matched China’s macro data with Chinese household financial survey data. Specifically, we used a OLS model for assessing the impact of LCPPs on China’s household carbon emissions and conducted heterogeneous analysis. Further, we evaluated the mechanism through which LCPPs affect the carbon emissions of Chinese households. The research results yielded three main findings. (1) LCPPs can promote a reduction in household carbon emissions; however, the impact of LCPPs on household carbon emissions exhibits a time lag. (2) LCPPs reduce household carbon emissions by promoting the upgradation of the household consumption structure. The LCPP enables households to reduce consumption of products involving high levels of carbon emissions, while increasing consumption of low-carbon emission products, thereby affecting total household carbon emissions. (3) An analysis of household heterogeneity revealed that LCPPs mainly affect household carbon emissions in the country’s eastern and central regions, especially urban households’ carbon emissions. This paper describes the implementation effects of LCPPs and suggests a viable path for the further implementation of LCPPs.

Access to financial services plays a crucial role in shaping household consumption patterns and carbon emissions. The advancement of inclusive finance in China, known for stimulating consumption, prompted an examination of its impact on household carbon emissions. Our study reveals that inclusive finance substantially lowers Chinese household carbon emissions by enhancing green awareness and reducing income inequality. Notably, the effects of inclusive finance are more significant in rural regions and among households with younger heads. Therefore, fostering inclusive finance is essential for harmonizing financial equity with environmental sustainability.

Household green consumption: Does digital inclusion matter?

丽江市家庭能耗碳排放特征及影响因素

As the proportion of household carbon emissions to global carbon emissions continues to increase, reducing carbon emissions from household consumption has become an important way to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. How the trend of miniaturization of household size will affect household carbon emissions is a matter of concern. This paper uses a sample of 9,090 households from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database in 2018 to empirically study the impact of changes in household size on household carbon emissions, from the perspective of household consumption structure and urban-rural areas. The research results indicate that the miniaturization of household size will increase household carbon emissions, the impact of household size on indirect HCEs is greater than on direct HCEs. The impact of household size on indirect HCEs is heterogeneous in consumption structure and the impact of household size on indirect HCEs from housing, transportation is greater than that of other consumption items. The impact of household size on urban household carbon emissions is greater than that in rural areas. The upgrading of household consumption structure and the miniaturization of household size promote the increase of HCEs jointly. Therefore, this paper proposes that under the trend of household miniaturization, energy-saving and emission reduction policies should focus on reducing indirect households carbon emissions, optimizing household structure and household consumption structure, enhancing environmental awareness among family members, establishing and improving the green consumption system, and building environment-friendly households.

The impacts of household structure transitions on household carbon emissions in China

Carbon emissions generated by household activities are an important factor in climate change; reducing household carbon emissions (HCEs) will be an essential part of future energy conservation and sustainability initiatives. Housing prices have a crucial impact on residents’ consumption, and the increase of consumption level is the main reason for the rise of household carbon emissions. Therefore, studying the impact of housing prices on HCEs not only provides guidance on expanding domestic demand and increasing consumption from the perspective of housing prices but also provides construction advice on curbing global warming and is more conducive to the development of building sustainable consumption. Taking household consumption as a starting point, this study investigates the impact of house prices on HCE in China based on the 2018 Chinese Household Tracking Survey (CFPS) and the China Energy Statistics Yearbook, using the carbon emission factor method to measure carbon emissions. It was found that increased house prices had a significant positive effect on HCEs. There is a clear wealth effect of rising house prices among homeowners, while the substitution effect also increases consumption among non-homeowners (by reducing attempts to save). Furthermore, rising house prices have a varied effect on different types of HCEs. The impact on emissions from everyday necessities such as clothing and housing is greater, and the impact on entertainment-related carbon emissions is small. In addition, rising house prices had the strongest effect on HCEs in central China. Homeowners in the east responded more to increased house prices than in the west, while the inverse effect was observed among non-homeowners. Urban homeowners and rural non-homeowners were also more sensitive to rising house prices. Policy recommendations are made based on the findings.