 Investing in a transition fuel: The remarkable decline in mortality from China's rollout of natural gas infrastructureWangyang Lai, Liguo Lin, Xiaochi Shen and Maigeng Zhou Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2025, vol. 130, issue C Abstract: The world is undergoing a monumental energy transition. Leveraging China's rollout of natural gas infrastructure, this study estimates the effects of energy access on mortality from 2004 to 2015. The data link the detailed locations and timings of pipeline setup with quarterly administrative death records. The results indicate a 53% increase in household gas usage and a 12% decline in death rate. Mortality reduction is largely driven by decreases in cardiorespiratory diseases and lung cancers, and particularly in the female population. This health benefit is primarily attributed to reduced air pollution due to the shift from dirty fuels to natural gas. The findings underscore the significant potential of transition fuel investments for public health. Keywords: Energy transition; Mortality; Natural gas; Indoor air pollution; Air quality; Gender inequality; Climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:130:y:2025:i:c:s0095069625000154 DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2025.103131 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Environmental Economics and Management is currently edited by M.A. Cole, A. Lange, D.J. Phaneuf, D. Popp, M.J. Roberts, M.D. Smith, C. Timmins, Q. Weninger and A.J. Yates More articles in Journal of Environmental Economics and Management from Elsevier |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.