Investigating the adoption of energy-saving measures in residential sector: The contribution to carbon neutrality of China and Europe

Abstract

China and Europe have both announced plans to be carbon neutral by 2060 and 2050 respectively. In residential sector, energy-saving technologies and behaviours are important measures to achieve carbon neutrality. This study investigated the adoption of technical and behavioural energy-saving measures in Northern China and Western Europe as important paths to achieve carbon neutrality in residential sector. The prevalence of six measures was investigated using a survey, which also enquired about the reasons for the adoption and non-adoption of such measures. The study highlighted remarkable differences in the measures adopted and the reasons for them. People in Northern China were more likely to adopt technical energy-saving measures but less likely to adopt behavioural energy-saving measures than people in Western Europe. Differences in respondents’ socio-demographic backgrounds, building details, environmental concerns, or beliefs played a role in the differences observed, but not a great one according to our econometric analysis. Two important reasons for the observed differences were subsidy policies and split incentives due to principal-agent issues between energy companies and energy users. The results showed that the residential sectors in China and Europe are working towards carbon-neutral targets, but in different ways. In Northern China, the direct energy-saving subsidy policy encouraged residents to adopt technical energy-saving measures. In Western Europe, the relatively reasonable energy charging system encouraged people to adopt behavioural energy-saving measures.