Household Carbon Emissions Research Articles

Regional Variation in Carbon Emissions and its Driving Forces in China: An Index Decomposition Analysis

This paper aims to investigate the factors affecting carbon emissions from the perspective of residential energy consumption. Specifically, through an index decomposition analysis (IDA), it examines the influence of social and economic factors on household carbon emissions in China's provinces. The results show that CO2 emissions associated with household consumption continued to grow during the decade of 2000–2010. In general, per capita consumption expenditure and the share of energy consumption expenditure in total consumption spending are two main factors contributing to an increase in residential carbon emissions, while the change of energy consumption structure and energy price mitigated the growth of carbon emissions. However, there are considerable regional differences. Therefore, Chinese government must consider the substantial contribution of residential consumption to carbon emissions when it aims to expand domestic consumption.

Household carbon emission differences and their driving factors in Northwestern China

Based on interview survey data, we used the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, the Peoples Republic of China National Greenhouse Gas Inventory(2007), input-output analysis, and life cycle assessment methodology to assess household CO2 emissions in Northwestern China. The result revealed the status and patterns of household CO2 emissions in this area: (1) average annual household CO2 emission per capita is 2.05 tons CO2 per year; (2) the majority of household CO2 emissions came from coal, electricity and food consumption, in which direct CO2 emissions (related to consumption of fossil fuel) accounted for 39.29 percent, and indirect emissions comprised 60.71 percent; (3) household CO2 emission was mainly affected by geographic environment, family size and income, and household age structure; (4) amounts, sources and driving factors of CO2 emission varied between urban and rural households, as well as between households in different provinces.

Time, gender and carbon: A study of the carbon implications of British adults' use of time

In order to meet the UK's challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, behaviour change will be necessary in addition to changes in technology. Traditionally this has been approached from the angle of shifting the goods people purchase towards lower impact options. But an equally valid angle is through changing the way people use their time. This study explores the GHG emissions per unit time for different types of activities. It focuses on ‘non-work’ time, and examines how different activities, such as household chores and leisure pursuits, give rise to varying amounts of household carbon emissions. We do this first for an average British adult, and then examine how time use varies within households, and how this impacts on resulting carbon emissions. We find, for example, that leisure activities are generally associated with lower carbon emissions than non-leisure activities, and that a higher proportion of an average man's carbon footprint is due to leisure than an average woman's. In the discussion we explore the implications of our findings for the varying roles carried out within different types of household, we investigate the concept of carbon as a potential marker for social justice, and discuss the implications for work-time reduction policies.

Towards “Zero-Carbon Homes” – Issues of Thermal Comfort

Buildings consume energy for space heating and cooling in order to maintain thermal comfort. Almost half of the UK’s carbon emissions come from buildings, and the domestic sector accounts for more than 30% of final energy consumption. In 2010, 27% of carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption were due to end users in the residential sector [1]. Space heating and hot water alone accounted for 23% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions and accounted for around 80% of UK household carbon emissions. Climate change, depletion of fossil fuels and energy security has become international concerns. From an environmental perspective, governments of many major countries in the world have formulated policies with a common aim to reduce energy

Planning parameters and household carbon emission: Evidence from high- and low-carbon neighborhoods in Beijing

This paper contributes to the study of planning for low-carbon cities by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between planning parameters (i.e., density, land use mix, accessibility to public transportation and jobs-housing balance) and household carbon emission in Beijing, China. Five neighborhoods representing different levels of carbon emission are selected using a household survey dataset that includes 1227 sample households; these neighborhoods are analyzed using the survey dataset together with land use data provided by the Beijing Municipal Urban Planning Commission. Findings confirm that higher population density, mixed land-use patterns, better accessibility to public transportation, and job-housing balance are important planning parameters that reduce household carbon emission in Beijing. This research provides the first empirical evidence from a large Asian city that can assist planners and policy makers in estimating the impact that planning principles can have on reducing household carbon emission.

丽江市家庭能耗碳排放特征及影响因素

Human activities have increasingly contributed to the total carbon emissions in a considerable portion in contemporary society.Energy consumption of each family,which is the basic unit of our society,is one of the most important sources of anthropic carbon emissions.Studying family consumption characteristic as well as the resulting carbon emissions pattern is of great significance for the fulfillment of the low-carbon strategy in China.By conducting a systematic family survey and panel data collection,a detailed inventory on energy-caused carbon emissions from rural and urban households in Lijiang city was exhibited.The divergences among different households,and related socioeconomic drivers were analyzed.The results showed that:(1) The main type of energy consumed by urban families was electricity,with liquid gas and coal as subsidiary,while the main type of energy consumed by rural families was firewood,supplemented by methane and electricity.In rural areas,the annual average carbon emission from firewood consumption was 4051kg per family,which accounted for 83.66% of total carbon emissions.In urban areas,the annual average carbon emission from electricity consumption was 1280kg per family,occupying 83.4% of the total.(2)The amount of family carbon emissions in rural areas was much higher than that in urban areas due to different energy consumption types,while the carbon emissions factor of firewood(1.87 kg CO2/kg) is much higher than the marginal carbon emissions coefficient of electricity(0.7134kg CO2 · kW-1 · h-1).(3) Household carbon emission in rural areas was significantly affected by family size,family income and education level.The enlargement of family size increased the household carbon emission by raising firewood consumption.Improvement of family income and education level promoted the use of low-carbon energy instead of firewood,which led to a decrease in carbon emission.(4) Household carbon emission in urban areas was significantly affected by age structure,education level,family size and housing area.The increase of the factors would lead to the increase of electricity consumption and the resulting carbon emission.(5) Necessary policies and regulations could be implemented to reduce family carbon emissions and included enlarging the covering area of Home Appliances to the Countryside policy,especially for remote rural areas,increasing family income by implement supporting policies,and raising environmental awareness of farmers by more education.

Evaluating energy, health and carbon co-benefits from improved domestic space heating: A randomised community trial

In order to value the costs and benefits associated with improved space heating we analysed the Housing, Heating and Health Study, a randomised community trial involving installation of energy efficient and healthy heaters (heat pump, wood pellet burner or flued gas heater) in homes with basic insulation and poor heating, occupied by households which included a child with asthma. We compared the initial purchase and installation cost of heaters with changes in the number of visits to health professionals, time off work/school, caregiving, and pharmaceutical use for household members and changes in total household energy use and carbon emissions following the intervention. We used two scenarios to analyse the results over the predicted 12-year life-span of the heaters. The targeted approach (Scenario A – assuming high rates of household asthma throughout the period of analysis) produced enough health-related benefits to offset the cost of the heaters, and when total energy use and carbon emission savings were included in the analysis the ratio of benefits to costs was 1.09:1. The untargeted approach (Scenario B – assuming typical New Zealand asthma rates throughout the period of analysis) had a ratio of total benefits to costs of 0.31:1.

Fun environmentalism!

PurposeThis paper seeks to outline a theoretical argument for movement towards a positive, holistic approach to environmentalism, one aspect of which is to make environmental action more satisfying, interesting, and fun. The paper aims to identify new approaches and techniques for individual behaviour change that can explain and promote the broad lifestyle change needed.Design/methodology/approachSelf‐determination theory was applied to the problem of unsustainable resource consumption by Australian households. To achieve sustainable levels of Australian household carbon emissions, individuals will have to adopt and maintain high impact pro‐environmental behaviours across a number of behavioural domains.FindingsIt is hypothesised that motivation type will be a critical factor in bringing about personally sustainable changes. In particular, self‐determined (autonomous) motivation will be essential for generalisation of pro‐environmental behaviour. It is also proposed that supporting other psychological needs of relatedness and competence for environmental action will further enhance self‐determination for pro‐environmental behaviour. If these hypotheses are supported, the next challenge is to identify optimal ways of promoting autonomous behaviour change, drawing on, and expanding from self‐determination theory. Initial proposals for autonomy, competence, and relatedness supporting interventions are presented.Practical implicationsChanges achieved through the motivational approach have the potential to significantly impact household carbon footprints.Originality/valueThe paper moves away from incentive/punishment based approaches to changing pro‐environmental behaviour and provides a rationale for a new approach that focuses on supporting optimal motivation types for maintained and generalised pro‐environmental behaviour.

Regional patterns of U.S. household carbon emissions

Market-based policies to address fossil fuel-related externalities including climate change typically operate by raising the price of those fuels. Increases in energy prices have important consequences for a typical U.S. household that spent almost $4,000 per year on electricity, fuel oil, natural gas, and gasoline in 2005. A key question for policymakers is how these consequences vary over different regions and subpopulations across the country—especially as adjustment and compensation programs are designed to protect more vulnerable regions. To answer this question, we use non-publicly available data from the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey over the period 1984–2000 to estimate long-run geographic variation in household use of electricity, fuel oil, natural gas, and gasoline, as well as the associated incidence of a $10 per ton tax on carbon dioxide (ignoring behavioral response). We find substantial variation: incidence from the tax range from $97 dollars per year per household in New York County, New York to $235 per year per household in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. This variation can be explained by differences in energy use, carbon intensity of electricity generation, and electricity regulation.