Chinese rural and urban residents’ carbon consumption

What is it about?

Estimating carbon emissions from the perspective of consumption and reducing carbon emission by guiding residents’ consumption is paid more and more attention by some countries and organizations. This study by considering the capital formation as a productive input of final consumer products estimates the carbon consumption of Chinese residents. Furthermore, it explores the driving factors of carbon consumption based on structural decomposition analysis.

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Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Given the above problems inherent in the current research, the main contributions of this study are as follows: (1) This study puts forward the concept and builds models to estimate the resident’s carbon consumption (including from capital formation). The direct resident’s carbon consumption was calculated using data on household energy consumption. Also, based on the comparable input–output data and sector energy consumption data and the production–consumption relationship contained in the input–output data from 1997 to 2015 in China, the indirect resident’s carbon consumption was estimated considering capital formation as a productive input to current consumer products. (2) Using the structural decomposition method, the paper analyzes the impact of various other factors, such as the urban and rural population structure, on the changes in carbon consumption by Chinese residents. This study estimates China’s carbon emissions from the perspective of consumption by residents, develops understanding of the driving factors of carbon consumption growth, and provides some valuable knowledge and policy references to enhance residents’ awareness of low-carbon consumption, clarifies the responsibility of producers and consumers for carbon emission reduction, and responds to China’s growing carbon emission challenges.

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