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Population ageing will accelerate in the coming decades in China. This ageing may have considerable impact on the economy and energy-related emissions, potentially affecting the global economy and global climate. By using a global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model we explore the impact caused by the population ageing through imposing the expected 2050 age structure on the economy and population size of 2011. Results show that gross domestic product (GDP) of China is reduced by nearly 10% as the ageing reduces consumption, labor supply and investments. However, increasing returns to capital abroad adds support to domestic demand. Ageing process in other countries can double ageing impacts on domestic consumption and encourage only a few production sectors in China. Global energy-related emissions is reduced by 700 Mt carbon dioxide (or about 70% of the 2011 emissions in Japan) due to the population ageing in China.

11Although its per capita carbon emissions are still relatively low, China's aggregated carbon 12 emissions have grown by nearly 4-fold in the last three decades, and now it is the biggest CO2 13 emitter in the world. There are many reasons for this emissions growth, and much emphasis 14 has been placed on industrial development, but previous research has estimated that 40% of 15 the growth in Chinese CO2 emissions over the 15 years to 2007 can be attributed to 16 household energy consumption. In this paper, we conduct a decomposition analysis to show 17 that in the period from 1978 to 2008 nearly 60% of the growth in Chinese household 18 emissions can be attributed to the increasing number of households and 40% to increasing 19 emissions per household. We also show that over this period emissions growth in urban 20 households has been six times that of rural households. These results have important 21 implications for policy makers seeking to promote reductions in China's CO2 emissions, 22 relating for example to family planning and urbanization. 23 24