Carbon Footprint of Residents’ Housing Consumption and Its Driving Forces in China

Liquan Xu, Yong Geng, Dong Wu, Chenyi Zhang and Shijiang Xiao
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Liquan Xu: China-UK Low Carbon College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Yong Geng: School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
Dong Wu: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Chenyi Zhang: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Shijiang Xiao: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: A large population size and rapid economic growth have resulted in a huge amount of housing consumption in China. Therefore, it is critical to identify the determinants of housing carbon footprint (CF) and prepare appropriate carbon mitigation measures. By employing the IPCC accounting method, input-output analysis and the stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) model, this study aims to study the spatio-temporal patterns and identify the driving factors of housing CF. The results show that regional disparities and urban-rural differences existed during the period 2012–2017. The results of the extended STIRPAT model show that population scale and energy consumption per unit building area are the two dominant contributors to the housing CF increments in all areas. While, family size only shows significant negative impact in eastern and western regions, the per capita disposable income only induces higher housing CF in rural areas, and energy structure had a remarkable positive impact in urban area of western region and all rural areas. Policy recommendations are proposed to mitigate the overall housing CF, including; controlling population growth and promoting urbanization benefits; encouraging green consumption; optimizing household energy consumption structure, and; enhancing residential building energy management.

Keywords: housing consumption; carbon footprint; urban-rural difference; regional disparity; STIRPAT model; Urban governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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