The Characteristics And Determinants Of Household Carbon Emissions In China

Excessive emissions of greenhouse gases are one of the main causes of global warming and environmental degradation,and human activities are an important factor leading to the continuous growth of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide.With the rapid development of the Chinese economy and the improvement of residents’ living standards,greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide generated by household consumption account for about 50% of China’s total greenhouse gas emissions.Therefore,carbon emissions generated by household consumption have become one of the main sources of carbon emissions.In the face of the dual crisis of global climate warming and energy shortage,China has proposed the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality,and has repeatedly emphasized the key role of green and lowcarbon lifestyles in achieving high-quality development.In this context,it is of great significance to explore the consumption and carbon emissions of this important energy-consuming sector of households,and to explore the driving forces behind the continuous growth of carbon emissions from household consumption,in order to find effective paths for household carbon emission reduction.Based on the China Family Panel Studies in 2014,2016,and 2018,this paper establishes an accounting list of household carbon emissions,calculates the carbon emissions of sample households based on Input-Output Analysis and Consumer Lifestyle Analysis,and analyzes the spatial-temporal pattern characteristics and changes of household carbon emissions from the national,regional and urban-rural perspectives.Based on the extended STIRPAT model,this paper explores the influencing factors of household carbon emissions from multiple dimensions by using the least square method and the Two-way fixed effects model.The following results are drawn:(1)During the research period,the carbon emissions per household and per capita consumption in China continued to increase,but the growth rate decreased.As a result,China remains a survival oriented consumption carbon emitting society with "food,clothing,and housing" as its core.The gap in carbon emissions from urban and rural household consumption continues to widen,and the differences in carbon emissions from food,transportation,communication,housing,education,and entertainment consumption between the two continue to widen.Although the gap in the carbon emissions of household consumption in the eastern,central,western and northeastern regions has narrowed year by year,there are still differences in the carbon emissions of household consumption of food,housing,household goods,education and entertainment in different regions.(2)The spatial differences in the household carbon emissions are obvious,showing a spatial pattern of "high in the east and low in the west,high in the south and low in the north",with a certain spatial agglomeration.The middle and high value areas of carbon emissions are mainly concentrated in the southeast coast and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River,and are expanding to the southwest over time;the low value areas are mainly concentrated in the northeast and northwest regions.(3)The relationship curve between household consumption carbon emissions and per capita net income shows an inverted "U" shape,meaning that as per capita income level continues to increase,household carbon emissions also continue to increase.When income reaches a certain turning point,household carbon emissions begin to decrease.Six factors,including household population size,average consumption propensity,internet use,online shopping expenses,total household property value,and education level of family members,have a significant promoting effect on the growth of household consumption carbon emissions.The upgrading of household consumption structure,elderly dependency ratio,and male population proportion have shown significant inhibitory effects on the growth of household consumption carbon emissions.