Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of Chinese urban household consumption based on process life cycle assessment: Exploring the critical influencing factors

Abstract

The household is an important sector for resource consumption and environmental impact. The consumption patterns and influencing factors of this sector must be identified to switch to a more sustainable stage of development. Process life cycle assessment (PLCA) can provide a bottom-up picture of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is suitable for the development of consumer-induced carbon management measures. In this study, PLCA was used to determine GHG emissions from Chinese urban households and to explore the primary influencing factors of GHG. The results indicated that, in 2014, the average global warming potential (GWP) per Chinese urban household was 5.36 t CO2-eq. Residential consumption contributed 33.5% to the total GWP, followed by food and household facilities consumption. Scenario analysis indicated that changing the power grid, extending the lifespan of buildings, and reducing vehicle ownership could have significant effects on Chinese urban household GWP impact. Green consumption patterns were also determined, with electricity savings, reduction in the frequency of automobile use, and prolonging the lifetime of household facilities all decreasing the GWP of household consumption.