Abstract
Urbanisation increases household carbon footprints in developing economies. However, the results from developed countries have varied, particularly in Europe. This study provides a coherent comparison of the impact of the degree of urbanisation on income, expenditure and carbon footprints in Europe. On average, carbon footprints are 7% lower in cities than in rural areas when income and household characteristics are controlled. However, this is compensated by the 6% higher average income in cities. The patterns are not uniform in all countries. In Eastern Europe, the pattern is similar to other developing regions. In some Western European countries, both the income level and the carbon footprints are lower in urban areas than in rural areas. In the rest of Europe, the differences in income level between rural and urban areas are small, but they still largely compensate for the efficiency benefits of urban areas. We call for more systemic emissions accounting and climate strategies.
Highlights
In Europe, almost three quarters of the population live in urban areas, and the percentage is constantly growing
We demonstrate the simultaneous impacts of the degree of urbanisation on income, expenditure and carbon footprints in 25 EU countries by comparing the residents of cities, towns and rural areas
The carbon footprint of food is generally lower in towns and cities than in rural areas
Summary
In Europe, almost three quarters of the population live in urban areas, and the percentage is constantly growing. The increasing urban population has important implications for the environmental impacts caused by Europeans. It requires investments in new residential construction, infrastructure and services. Urban areas concentrate economic activities, which increases the income level of the citizens. Consumption patterns (Shigeto et al 2012, MillwardHopkins et al 2017), time-use (Wiedenhofer et al 2018) and lifestyles (Heinonen et al 2013, Zhang et al 2016) may change towards typical metropolitan behaviour. All of the above have environmental consequences
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