Structural Characteristics of the Household Carbon Footprint in an Aging Society

Ying Long, Jiahao Feng, Aolong Sun, Rui Wang () and Yafei Wang
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Ying Long: School of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Jiahao Feng: School of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Aolong Sun: School of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Rui Wang: School of Statistics and Mathematics, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai 201209, China
Yafei Wang: School of Statistics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: The aging population has posed a challenge to China’s carbon neutrality pledge. To study the household carbon footprint in an aging society, this paper has combined the age-specific consumption pattern and environmental input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) to calculate the carbon footprint of household consumption across age groups, and then identified the key pathways of carbon emissions via structural path analysis (SPA). Results indicate that the elderly contribute 11.65% to total consumption-based carbon emissions. The working group (ages 15–64) has the highest average carbon footprint (0.85 tCO 2 e), while the elderly group (ages 65 and above) has the lowest average carbon footprint (0.82 tCO 2 e). Urban households of all ages have a higher carbon footprint than rural households. Housing and food are the dominant sources of the elderly carbon footprint. Notably, the production and distribution of electric power and heat power sector associated with housing energy consumption plays a leading role in the carbon emissions pathways of elderly consumption. Measuring the carbon footprint of older people can support policy designs and decision making in key sectors along the supply chain, and further encourage low-carbon lifestyles among China’s elderly. Additionally, the findings of this study have broad applications, especially for developing countries undergoing demographic transitions.

Keywords: carbon footprint; age-specific consumption pattern; environmental input–output life cycle assessment model; structural path analysis; the aging society (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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