Household Behavior Selections under CO2 Emission Constraint

Abstract

Reducing human–caused CO2 emissions to acceptable levels must become a global objective of our modern society. One way to meet this objective is to introduce a constraint on household annual CO2 emission (HACO2). However, behaviors that reduce CO2 emissions, may appear too expensive, or to worsen living conditions. Although the goal of controlling CO2 emissions is widely accepted, in practice it is not easy to reduce energy consumption. This paper develops a CO2 emission trading scheme (CETS) framework for households based on the definition HACO2. In this study, a city′s CO2 emission is assumed to be the sum of all HACO2. The CO2 constraint for a single household is determined by the city′s total CO2 emission reduction target. Multi–agent simulator is applied to clarify household behavior–selections under such constraint, and to find the effects of total CO2 emission within the urban model. Simulations are performed with CETS (Case 1) and without CETS (Case 2). Results indicate 1) Under a CO2 constraint, agents choose behaviors to meet the HACO2 constraint. Total CO2 emissions within the urban model decrease toward the pre–determined reduction target. 2) The CETS framework for household level is proved not only cost–efficient but also promotes the process of reducing CO2 emissions. 3) An agent that acts for self–benefit will not consider the completeness of the total target. As a result, the reduction target within the urban model is never achieved even with the implementation of CETS.