Fuel adoption in rural heating: a field study on northern China

Purpose - Promoting clean heating in rural areas is crucial for achieving a low-carbon transition of energy consumption and China's dual-carbon target. The study aims to consider the energy stacking behavior in heating energy use, reveals the determinants that affect household cleaner heating choices under the winter clean heating plan (WCHP), and proposes policy recommendations for the sustainable promotion of clean heating. Design/methodology/approach - With unique rural household survey data covering the clean heating pilot regions in northern China in 2020, this study estimates the relationship between driving factors and heating energy choices through binary and multivariate probit models. Findings - The regression estimates show that the main drivers of heating energy choices include household income per capita, education level of household head, knowledge of the WCHP, access to heating subsidies and perception of indoor air pollution. There is energy stacking behavior in rural household heating energy use. Household decisions to adopt electricity or clean coal heating are correlated with firewood or soft coal use. Originality/value - This study is one of the few to investigate the heating energy use of rural households by allowing for the adoption of multiple energy types. Combined with a unique microsurvey dataset, it could provide rich information for formulating proper energy transition planning. The findings also shed light on the importance of heating subsidies, households' knowledge of WCHP and awareness of environmental health in choosing clean heating energy, which has not been fully valued in related research.