IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v26y2022i4p1504-1513.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Materials footprint of household consumption in China

Author

Listed:
  • Jingru Liu
  • Haotong Wu
  • Xin Tian
  • Heming Wang
  • Yinglei Wu

Abstract

China has been witnessing profound changes in the consumption behaviors of its population during the last several decades. To better gauge the current consumption structure of Chinese households and investigate the burden exerted by consumption on resources, we calculated the household material footprint (HMF) in China within the individual consumption classification framework developed by the United Nations. HMF is the only life‐cycle‐based indicator adopted into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Four types of raw materials and 15 representative consumption divisions were analyzed in this research. The total HMF in China increased by 103% from 1992 to 2017, although the per capita HMF remains lower than the global average. The per capita HMF growth in rural and urban areas differs, with urban citizens consuming 2.8 more metric tons of resources than rural residents as of 2017. The HMF of all materials studied shows a rising trend, especially for metal ores, which underpins the real estate and auto industries. Food‐related consumption is the main contributor to the HMF in China, while consumption of housing and transportation has less proportion yet more growth potential compared with developed countries. This study adds to the literature of studies on the consumption behaviors and domestic demands of China and has further methodologically significant meaning for similar studies in other countries and practical value for policymakers. Overall, this study demonstrates that despite an upsurge in consumption behaviors and gratifying economic records, the incurred resource and environmental burden may fuel risks for sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingru Liu & Haotong Wu & Xin Tian & Heming Wang & Yinglei Wu, 2022. "Materials footprint of household consumption in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1504-1513, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:26:y:2022:i:4:p:1504-1513
    DOI: 10.1111/jiec.13290
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13290
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jiec.13290?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John E. Fernández, 2007. "Resource Consumption of New Urban Construction in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(2), pages 99-115, April.
    2. Eisenmenger, Nina & Wiedenhofer, Dominik & Schaffartzik, Anke & Giljum, Stefan & Bruckner, Martin & Schandl, Heinz & Wiedmann, Thomas O. & Lenzen, Manfred & Tukker, Arnold & Koning, Arjan, 2016. "Consumption-based material flow indicators — Comparing six ways of calculating the Austrian raw material consumption providing six results," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 177-186.
    3. Zhenci Xu & Sophia N. Chau & Xiuzhi Chen & Jian Zhang & Yingjie Li & Thomas Dietz & Jinyan Wang & Julie A. Winkler & Fan Fan & Baorong Huang & Shuxin Li & Shaohua Wu & Anna Herzberger & Ying Tang & De, 2020. "Assessing progress towards sustainable development over space and time," Nature, Nature, vol. 577(7788), pages 74-78, January.
    4. Tiejun Dai & Wanjun Wang, 2018. "The Characteristics and Trends of Socioeconomic Metabolism in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1228-1240, October.
    5. Wiedmann, Thomas & Minx, Jan & Barrett, John & Wackernagel, Mathis, 2006. "Allocating ecological footprints to final consumption categories with input-output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 28-48, January.
    6. Kjartan Steen-Olsen & Richard Wood & Edgar G. Hertwich, 2016. "The Carbon Footprint of Norwegian Household Consumption 1999–2012," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(3), pages 582-592, June.
    7. Wang, Heming & Wang, Guoqiang & Qi, Jianchuan & Schandl, Heinz & Li, Yumeng & Feng, Cuiyang & Yang, Xuechun & Wang, Yao & Wang, Xinzhe & Liang, Sai, 2020. "Scarcity-weighted fossil fuel footprint of China at the provincial level," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    8. Gerd Ahlert & Frank Hohmann & Michael Lettenmeier & Christa Liedke & Mark Meyer & Sören Steger & Helena Walter, 2016. "Interactive analysis of individual consumption patterns with regard to raw-material availability: The web tool ‘My Raw Material World’," GWS Discussion Paper Series 16-2, GWS - Institute of Economic Structures Research.
    9. Michael Lettenmeier & Christa Liedtke & Holger Rohn, 2014. "Eight Tons of Material Footprint—Suggestion for a Resource Cap for Household Consumption in Finland," Resources, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-28, July.
    10. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    11. Stefan Giljum & Martin Bruckner & Aldo Martinez, 2015. "Material Footprint Assessment in a Global Input-Output Framework," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 19(5), pages 792-804, October.
    12. Heming Wang & Heinz Schandl & Guoqiang Wang & Lin Ma & Yao Wang, 2019. "Regional material flow accounts for China: Examining China's natural resource use at the provincial and national level," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(6), pages 1425-1438, December.
    13. Christa Liedtke & Katrin Bienge & Klaus Wiesen & Jens Teubler & Kathrin Greiff & Michael Lettenmeier & Holger Rohn, 2014. "Resource Use in the Production and Consumption System—The MIPS Approach," Resources, MDPI, vol. 3(3), pages 1-31, August.
    14. Diana Ivanova & Konstantin Stadler & Kjartan Steen-Olsen & Richard Wood & Gibran Vita & Arnold Tukker & Edgar G. Hertwich, 2016. "Environmental Impact Assessment of Household Consumption," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 20(3), pages 526-536, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Theine, Hendrik & Humer, Stefan & Moser, Mathias & Schnetzer, Matthias, 2022. "Emissions inequality: Disparities in income, expenditure, and the carbon footprint in Austria," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Johannes Buhl & Christa Liedtke & Sebastian Schuster & Katrin Bienge, 2020. "Predicting the Material Footprint in Germany between 2015 and 2020 via Seasonally Decomposed Autoregressive and Exponential Smoothing Algorithms," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Bjelle, Eivind Lekve & Wiebe, Kirsten S. & Többen, Johannes & Tisserant, Alexandre & Ivanova, Diana & Vita, Gibran & Wood, Richard, 2021. "Future changes in consumption: The income effect on greenhouse gas emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Lin Liu & Heinz Schandl & James West & Meng Jiang & Zijian Ren & Dingjiang Chen & Bing Zhu, 2022. "Copper ore material footprints and transfers embodied in domestic and international trade of provinces in China," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(4), pages 1423-1436, August.
    5. Kucukvar, Murat & Haider, Muhammad Ali & Onat, Nuri Cihat, 2017. "Exploring the material footprints of national electricity production scenarios until 2050: The case for Turkey and UK," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 251-263.
    6. Pottier, Antonin, 2022. "Expenditure elasticity and income elasticity of GHG emissions: A survey of literature on household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    7. Tobias Wendler, 2019. "About the Relationship Between Green Technology and Material Usage," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(3), pages 1383-1423, November.
    8. Duarte, Rosa & Miranda-Buetas, Sara & Sarasa, Cristina, 2021. "Household consumption patterns and income inequality in EU countries: Scenario analysis for a fair transition towards low-carbon economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    9. Zhong, Qiumeng & Zhang, Zhihe & Wang, Heming & Zhang, Xu & Wang, Yao & Wang, Peng & Ma, Fengmei & Yue, Qiang & Du, Tao & Chen, Wei-Qiang & Liang, Sai, 2023. "Incorporating scarcity into footprints reveals diverse supply chain hotspots for global fossil fuel management," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    10. Zafrilla, Jorge-Enrique & Arce, Guadalupe & Cadarso, María-Ángeles & Córcoles, Carmen & Gómez, Nuria & López, Luis-Antonio & Monsalve, Fabio & Tobarra, María-Ángeles, 2019. "Triple bottom line analysis of the Spanish solar photovoltaic sector: A footprint assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Tiejun Dai & Shuo Shan, 2020. "Path Analysis of Beijing’s Dematerialization Development Based on System Dynamics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-23, January.
    12. Wenwu Zhao & Caichun Yin & Ting Hua & Michael E. Meadows & Yan Li & Yanxu Liu & Francesco Cherubini & Paulo Pereira & Bojie Fu, 2022. "Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in the post-pandemic era," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    13. Pothen, Frank & Tovar Reaños, Miguel Angel, 2018. "The Distribution of Material Footprints in Germany," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 237-251.
    14. Decun Wu & Jinping Liu, 2016. "Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) Study of the Provincial Ecological Footprints and Domestic Embodied Footprints Traded among China’s 30 Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-31, December.
    15. Piñero, Pablo & Cazcarro, Ignacio & Arto, Iñaki & Mäenpää, Ilmo & Juutinen, Artti & Pongrácz, Eva, 2018. "Accounting for Raw Material Embodied in Imports by Multi-regional Input-Output Modelling and Life Cycle Assessment, Using Finland as a Study Case," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 40-50.
    16. Franco Solís, Alberto & F.T. Avelino, André & Carrascal-Incera, André, 2020. "The evolution of household-induced value chains and their environmental implications," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    17. Antonin Pottier & Gaëlle Le Treut, 2023. "Quantifying GHG emissions enabled by capital and labor: Economic and gender inequalities in France," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(2), pages 624-636, April.
    18. Hanspeter Wieland & Stefan Giljum & Nina Eisenmenger & Dominik Wiedenhofer & Martin Bruckner & Anke Schaffartzik & Anne Owen, 2020. "Supply versus use designs of environmental extensions in input–output analysis: Conceptual and empirical implications for the case of energy," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(3), pages 548-563, June.
    19. Onat, Nuri Cihat & Kucukvar, Murat, 2020. "Carbon footprint of construction industry: A global review and supply chain analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    20. Hernández, Christian & Vita, Gibran, 2022. "Carbon footprint analysis of household consumption in greater Guadalajara reveal stark socio-spatial inequalities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:26:y:2022:i:4:p:1504-1513. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1088-1980 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.