Inequality of household consumption and PM2.5 footprint across socioeconomic groups in China

Abstract

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals have highlighted the challenge posed by increasing air pollution. This study allocates PM2.5 footprint to household consumption expenditure based on multi-regional input–output model and survey data collected from 30 000 households. The household indirect PM2.5 footprint related to spending on food, hospital, electricity, and education rank as the top four items, plus direct PM2.5 emissions, which in combination contribute more than 55% of total air pollution. Compared with the poor, the responsibilities for air pollution on the wealthy are more sensitive to changes in income, especially for high-end consumption categories, such as luxury goods and services, education and healthcare. Further, the wealthiest 20% of households cause 1.5 times the PM2.5 footprint per capita than exposure to PM2.5 emissions. The high-footprint household samples are concentrated in high-exposure areas. It is recommended that mitigation policies address inequality of PM2.5 footprint by targeting the top 20% of footprint groups with tags of wealthy, urban resident, well-educated, small family, and apartment living.