A Comparison of Household Carbon Emission Patterns of Urban and Rural China over the 17 Year Period (1995–2011)

Jiansheng Qu, Tek Maraseni, Lina Liu, Zhiqiang Zhang and Talal Yusaf
Additional contact information
Jiansheng Qu: Information Center for Global Change Studies, Lanzhou Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Tek Maraseni: University of Southern Queensland, Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia
Lina Liu: MOE Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems, Research School of Arid Environment & Climate Change, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Zhiqiang Zhang: Information Center for Global Change Studies, Lanzhou Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
Talal Yusaf: University of Southern Queensland, Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: The household sector consumes a large amount of goods and services and is therefore a major source of global carbon emissions. This study aims to analyze per person household carbon emission (HCEs) patterns of urban and rural China over the period from 1995 to 2011. Annual macroeconomic data for the study were obtained from authentic Chinese government sources. Direct HCE estimates for each fossil fuel were obtained using the IPCC’s reference approach, and indirect HCEs were calculated by input-output analysis. In 1995, per person HCEs from direct sources for urban and rural China were 0.50 tCO 2 and 0.22 tCO 2 , respectively; by 2011, these values had increased to 0.60 tCO 2 and 0.61 tCO 2 , an increase of 20% and 177.27%, respectively. Similarly, in 1995, per person HCEs from indirect sources for urban and rural China were 0.43 tCO 2 and 0.16 tCO 2 , respectively; by 2011, these values had increased to 1.77 tCO 2 and 0.53 tCO 2 , respectively, an increase of 306% and 235%. The reasons for these differences and the sets of policies required to rectify increasing emissions are discussed. If current trends and practices continue, with a RMB1000 increase in per capita income from 2011 levels, per person HCEs in urban and rural China will increase by 0.119 tCO 2 and 0.197 tCO 2 , respectively. This result indicates that the sector of society which is most vulnerable will contribute most to China’s increasing HCEs. Therefore, while developing energy consumption and emissions reduction policies and programs, principles of fairness and equity need to be followed.

Keywords: per capita income; household size; direct emissions; indirect emission; China (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: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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