Intertemporal lifestyle changes and carbon emissions: Evidence from a China household survey

Zhang, H; Shi, X; Wang, K; Xue, J; Song, L; Sun, Y

Intertemporal lifestyle changes and carbon emissions: Evidence from a China household survey

Zhang, H Shi, X

Wang, K Xue, J Song, L Sun, Y

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Publisher:: ELSEVIER
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Energy Economics, 2020, 86
Issue Date:: 2020-02-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, H
dc.contributor.author	Shi, X https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9653-7395
dc.contributor.author	Wang, K
dc.contributor.author	Xue, J
dc.contributor.author	Song, L
dc.contributor.author	Sun, Y
dc.date.accessioned	2020-09-22T07:57:19Z
dc.date.available	2020-09-22T07:57:19Z
dc.date.issued	2020-02-01
dc.identifier.citation	Energy Economics, 2020, 86
dc.identifier.issn	0140-9883
dc.identifier.issn	1873-6181
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142808
dc.description.abstract	© 2019 Elsevier B.V. This paper examines the endogenous evolution of household consumption patterns and household carbon emissions (HCEs) by integrating the analysis methods of income distribution with climate change. Based on a large-scale household survey spanning from 2012 to 2016 in China, we estimated the direct and indirect HCEs, observed inverse U-shaped Carbon Kuznets Curves (CKC) and significant changes in HCEs over the period at the household level. Applying the Oaxaca-Blinder method, we decomposed factors causing the changes in HCEs and found that income and demographic effects contribute only 25.1% to the total increase of HCEs. The other 74.9% remain unexplained and we define them as the effect of intertemporal lifestyle changes. Further analysis from multiple perspectives illustrates that the lifestyles of households across various social strata are becoming increasingly higher carbon-intensive over time even though the income remains unchanged. The findings indicate that existing modeling and projections of carbon emissions based on income and household characteristics may underestimate the future emissions pressure from the household sector. Hence, we conclude that in order to reach more meaningful results, the increasing effect of lifestyles should be taken into account when conducting climate change studies and formulating climate policies.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	ELSEVIER
dc.relation.ispartof	Energy Economics
dc.relation.hasversion	Accepted Manuscript Version	en
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.eneco.2019.104655
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.subject	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 0913 Mechanical Engineering, 1402 Applied Economics
dc.subject.classification	Energy
dc.title	Intertemporal lifestyle changes and carbon emissions: Evidence from a China household survey
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	86
utslib.for	0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
utslib.for	0913 Mechanical Engineering
utslib.for	1402 Applied Economics
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (International)
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (International)/Australia-China Relations Institute
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2022-01-02T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2020-09-22T07:57:13Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	86

Abstract:

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. This paper examines the endogenous evolution of household consumption patterns and household carbon emissions (HCEs) by integrating the analysis methods of income distribution with climate change. Based on a large-scale household survey spanning from 2012 to 2016 in China, we estimated the direct and indirect HCEs, observed inverse U-shaped Carbon Kuznets Curves (CKC) and significant changes in HCEs over the period at the household level. Applying the Oaxaca-Blinder method, we decomposed factors causing the changes in HCEs and found that income and demographic effects contribute only 25.1% to the total increase of HCEs. The other 74.9% remain unexplained and we define them as the effect of intertemporal lifestyle changes. Further analysis from multiple perspectives illustrates that the lifestyles of households across various social strata are becoming increasingly higher carbon-intensive over time even though the income remains unchanged. The findings indicate that existing modeling and projections of carbon emissions based on income and household characteristics may underestimate the future emissions pressure from the household sector. Hence, we conclude that in order to reach more meaningful results, the increasing effect of lifestyles should be taken into account when conducting climate change studies and formulating climate policies.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142808