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Unveiling Key Drivers of Indirect Carbon Emissions of Chinese Older Households

Author

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  • Hongwu Zhang

    (School of Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China)

  • Lequan Zhang

    (School of Economics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China)

  • Keying Wang

    (Center of Hubei Cooperative Innovation for Emissions Trading System, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China
    School of Low Carbon Economics, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Xunpeng Shi

    (Center of Hubei Cooperative Innovation for Emissions Trading System, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China
    Australia-China Relations Institute, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia)

Abstract

The rapid urbanization and growing population aging have become salient features in China. Understanding their impacts on household emissions is crucial for designing mitigation policies for household carbon emissions. By integrating Chinese older household survey data with an unconditional quantile regression model, this paper examines the heterogeneous impacts of household characteristics on indirect carbon emissions of older Chinese households. There are three main findings: (1) The effects of urbanization on emissions at different quantiles of carbon emissions appear to be inverted U-shaped, which means that the rise of urbanization level increases carbon emissions more at the middle than at the bottom or the top, and helps to alleviate carbon emission inequality, (2) though carbon emissions rise with the increase of income, there is a clear urban-rural divide in the effects of income on carbon emissions, and (3) the rise in the share of well-educated people contributes to the increase in carbon emissions. The higher the degree of education is, the larger the impact is. These findings contribute to understanding the determinants of carbon emissions and are helpful for policymakers to design targeted policies in reducing carbon emissions from the consumption-side.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongwu Zhang & Lequan Zhang & Keying Wang & Xunpeng Shi, 2019. "Unveiling Key Drivers of Indirect Carbon Emissions of Chinese Older Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5740-:d:277355
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