Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions of China’s Residential Sector: The Importance of Considering Energy Transition

Abstract

This study focuses on China's residential sector and examines energy use growth resulting from income increases and urbanization development. We also look at the energy transition (from primitive fuels to advanced fuels) caused by economic development, as well as the mitigation potential of greenhouse gas and air pollutants emissions. Several studies have provided evidence of a positive correlation between income and per capita final energy use at the national level. In addition to income, demographic factors such as household size and education level have also been suggested to have influences on urban energy use. In this study, we consider various socio-economic indicators to analyze their influences on household energy use. Considering the economic and climate diversity across China's provincial regions, our analysis is based on the 31 provincial regions and examines the emissions pathways of 31 provincial regions. We first apply a multiple linear regression analysis on historical panel data to determine the correlations between socio-economic indicators and domestic energy sources. Next, we use the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM/Enduse) to estimate mitigation potential due to energy transition and sustainable policies. The results suggest that income and education levels are major drivers that have a significant impact on household energy choices both in rural and urban areas. In rural areas, climate and energy resource potential also have an impact on the choices of biomass energy use. Without consideration of energy transition constraints, future estimation of energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions can be greatly overestimated or underestimated depending on the socioeconomic status of the province. It is important to note that the way that we consider energy transition constraints also significantly affects the air pollutants' emissions of the household sector due to biomass consumption, especially on particulate matter 2.5 microns or less (PM 2.5 ) emissions. Furthermore, implementation of efficient technologies contributes to achieving China's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) and brings the co-benefits of air pollutants' emission reductions.

Collaborative Optimization of Emissions and Abatement Costs for Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gases from the Perspective of Energy Structure: An Empirical Analysis in Tianjin

“…The singular pursuit of emission reduction or abatement cost reduction is not conducive to supporting both environmental quality and economic development. In addition, due to the homologous nature of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, optimizing the energy structure is the key to achieve collaborative governance in the long-term [7,18]. However, only a few articles have discussed emission reduction schemes from the perspective of energy consumption, and these studies have not also considered the abatement costs.…”

“…While previous studies have been devoted to the collaborative governance of air pollutants and greenhouse gases in the context of technological improvements and macro control, in the long run, the energy structure, which is the ratio between one energy type consumption and the total energy consumption [6], holds the key to achieving collaborative governance [7]. The main air pollutants of China such as SO 2 , and NO X , and greenhouse gas CO 2 are produced from the consumption of fossil fuel-based energy sources, including coal, oil, and natural gas, which also offer the potential for collaborative governance [8].…”

Teleworking Effect on Traffic and Air Pollution

“…The study by Lavaine (2015) included socio-economic characteristics to explore the relationship between air pollution and mortality rates. In another study by Xing et al (2017), it was found that income, education and household size are major drivers of energy transition in the residential sector and therefore have an impact on air pollution, while other studies found that female share in households has an impact on household energy choice in Bolivia, Guatemala and some Asian countries (Sathaye and Tyler ;Israel, 2002;Heltberg, 2005;Gupta and Kohlin, 2006). Based on the literature we presented so far we include in our regression estimates the most important socio-economic factors.…”

Are Korean Households Willing to Pay a Premium for Induction Cooktops over Gas Stoves?

“…When cooking with a gas stove, harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde are released because of incomplete combustion. The harmful gases emitted from a gas stove adversely affect the human body, so it is necessary to ensure continuous ventilation even during cold winters, and the hood must be cleaned frequently [6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”