Spatial disparities and variation sources decomposition of energy poverty in China

Abstract

Addressing energy poverty and promoting energy equity are crucial for China to eradicate poverty comprehensively and achieve shared prosperity. Through a combined dynamic evaluation approach to accurately measure the extent of energy poverty, this paper analyzes the staged time series, spatial distribution characteristics of energy poverty applies the Dagum Gini coefficient and variance decomposition to observe the imbalance characteristics of energy poverty and identify the sources of variation. The objective of this paper is to mitigate the influence of spatial disparities on coordinating efforts to eradicate energy poverty across different regions. Consequently, provides valuable insights for decision-making to effectively eradicate energy poverty and expedite the achievement of energy equity. The results indicate: The reduction process of energy poverty in China exhibit phased characteristics from 2000 to 2020, with significant variations in reduction levels among provinces. Different sources of energy poverty exhibits imbalanced spatial distribution and evolution. The overall disparity in energy poverty widens as the phases progress, with characteristic nodes experiencing a temporal delay of 2–3 years compared to the policy nodes. Inter-regional disparities are the primary spatial source of energy poverty differences, while energy use capacity is the main factor contributing to variation.