The impacts of urbanization on Chinese households' energy consumption: An energy input-output analysis

Abstract

Since China's economic reforms and opening-up policy in 1980, China has experienced significant urbanization. This rapid urbanization has stimulated the growth of energy consumption. To investigate the impacts of urbanization on Chinese households' energy consumption, this paper analyzed the changes in households' direct energy consumption (DEC) and calculated households' indirect energy consumption (IEC) based on an energy input-output model. By applying an input-output structure decomposition analysis model, this paper quantitatively measured the impacts of urbanization on the direct and indirect energy consumption of households in China. We found that the amount of China's urban households' DEC gradually increased from 48.7 million tons of oil equivalent to 185.2 million tons of oil equivalent. In 2012, the proportion of coal products in urban households' DEC decreased from 91.4% in 1980 to 24.3%, while the proportion of petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity in urban households' DEC increased. During 1980 to 2012, China's rural households' DEC increased from 36.7 million tons of oil equivalent to 121.5 million tons of oil equivalent. However, the proportion of coal products was still greater than 50% in 2012. Chinese households' IEC increased from 302.8 million tons of oil equivalent in 1987 to 769.9 million tons of oil equivalent in 2010. In addition, China's urban households' IEC had a faster growth rate than China's rural households' IEC. Urban households' IEC increased from 139.0 million tons in 1987 to 599.8 million tons in 2010, while rural households' IEC fluctuated during the same period, with 163.8 million tons in 1987, 132.2 million tons in 2000, and 170.1 million tons in 2010. Among the impact factors of households' DEC, which include the population, urbanization rate, urban/rural households' DEC per capita and urban/rural households' DEC structure, China's total population has a positive effect on households' DEC growth. The urbanization rate is the other important factor constantly stimulating China's households' DEC growth. For households' IEC, the urbanization rate and per capita consumption had positive effects on the increase in households' IEC. Except for the period from 2002 to 2005, direct energy intensity had a negative effect on the increase in households' IEC in other periods. The Leontief effect on households' IEC was positive from 2000 to 2005 and negative in other subperiods. The results indicate that China needs to integrate energy efficiency, ecological conservation, and social fairness in its “new-type urbanization” planning. Green lifestyles within the household and low-carbon city construction should be encouraged.