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Urban Household Carbon Emission and Contributing Factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China

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  • Xibao Xu
  • Yan Tan
  • Shuang Chen
  • Guishan Yang
  • Weizhong Su

Abstract

Carbon reduction at the household level is an integral part of carbon mitigation. This study analyses the characteristics, effects, contributing factors and policies for urban household carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Delta of China. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaire surveys in three cities in the region – Nanjing, Ningbo, and Changzhou in 2011. The survey data was first used to estimate the magnitude of household carbon emissions in different urban contexts. It then examined how, and to what extent, each set of demographic, economic, behavioral/cognitive and spatial factors influence carbon emissions at the household level. The average of urban household carbon emissions in the region was estimated to be 5.96 tonnes CO2 in 2010. Energy consumption, daily commuting, garbage disposal and long-distance travel accounted for 51.2%, 21.3%, 16.0% and 11.5% of the total emission, respectively. Regulating rapidly growing car-holdings of urban households, stabilizing population growth, and transiting residents’ low-carbon awareness to household behavior in energy saving and other spheres of consumption in the context of rapid population aging and the growing middle income class are suggested as critical measures for carbon mitigation among urban households in the Yangtze River Delta.

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  • Xibao Xu & Yan Tan & Shuang Chen & Guishan Yang & Weizhong Su, 2015. "Urban Household Carbon Emission and Contributing Factors in the Yangtze River Delta, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0121604
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121604
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    2. Olaniyan, Olanrewaju & Sulaimon, Mubaraq Dele & Ademola, Wasiu, 2018. "Determinants of household direct CO2 emissions: Empirical evidence from Nigeria," MPRA Paper 87801, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    7. Rui Huang & Shaohui Zhang & Changxin Liu, 2018. "Comparing Urban and Rural Household CO 2 Emissions—Case from China’s Four Megacities: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
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    11. Fouad Khan & Benjamin K. Sovacool, 2016. "Testing the efficacy of voluntary urban greenhouse gas emissions inventories," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 139(2), pages 141-154, November.
    12. Huimin Zhou & Pei Wang & Chengxin Wang & Xiangzheng Deng & Kai Liu, 2019. "Investigation of a spatial coupling relationship between carbon emission performance and regional urbanization in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, September.
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