Impacts of residential energy consumption on the health burden of household air pollution: Evidence from 135 countries

Abstract

Knowledge about the links between burden from household air pollution (B-HAP) and residential energy consumption (REC) is essential for optimizing residential energy supply mix and improving the quality of indoor air worldwide. However, the literature on this topic from a perspective of energy transition is still lacking. This study investigates the relationship between the variation in the B-HAP and the structural transition of REC using cross-sectional data of 135 countries during 1990–2015. The results indicate that countries with high B-HAP are clustered in Africa and Asia, which are mainly middle- and low-income countries. Meanwhile, with the structural transition of REC, the global B-HAP has exhibited a decreasing trend. Moreover, the findings show that residential electricity use has a greater impact on B-HAP reduction than other household fuels. Although the impacts of liquefied petroleum gas usage changed considerably during the study period, its contribution to reducing the B-HAP remains highly significant, while household natural gas use exhibited a significant and stable effect on B-HAP reduction. In contrast, solid biomass use showed an increasingly adverse impact on the B-HAP, and the impact of coal use on the B-HAP became statistically significant since 2010, with an increasing trend.