Abstract

Historically, a sectoral approach (based on the industrial, transportation, commercial, and residential sectors) has shaped the way we frame and analyze issues of energy conservation and CO₂ mitigation. This sectoral categorization, however, is limited in its capacity to reveal the total impacts of consumer activities on energy use and its related environmental impacts. In this paper, we propose an alternative paradigm, called the Consumer Lifestyle Approach (CLA), to explore the relationship between consumer activities and environmental impacts in the US. Estimates based on our methodology reveal that more than 80% of the energy used and the CO₂ emitted in the US are a consequence of consumer demands and the economic activities to support these demands. Direct influences due to consumer activities (home energy use and personal travel) are 4% of the US GDP, but account for 28% and 41% of US energy use and CO₂ emissions, respectively. Indirect influences (such as housing operations, transportation operations, food, and apparel) involve more than twice the direct energy use and CO₂ emissions. Characterization of both direct and indirect energy use and emissions is critical to the design of more effective energy and CO₂ emission policies. It may also help erode the false dichotomy of “them versus us” (industrial polluters versus consumers) references to the locus of responsibility for control of energy use and CO₂ emissions.

Abstract

In China, Rapid economic growth has stimulated fast urban expansion and rural household income and consumption expenditure. In current paper, an input–output method is used to determine the impact of China’s increased urban and rural household consumption on carbon emissions. The results shows that the direct and indirect CO₂ emission from household consumption accounted for more than 40% of total carbon emissions from primary energy utilization in China in 1992–2007. The population increase, expansion of urbanization and the increase of household consumption per capita all contribute to an increase of indirect carbon emissions, while carbon intensity decline mitigates the growth of carbon emissions. Therefore, at the domestic level, household consumption is of great significance for CO₂ emission, which could be mitigated through changing the composition of goods and services consumed by households, and switching to consumption pattern of less carbon-intensive products. The government must consider the substantial contribution of household consumption to carbon emissions when China is encouraging consumption in order to address the current global financial crisis.

Abstract

Large-scale energy reduction campaigns focusing on households generally have two shortcomings. First, an energy reduction campaign is either personalized but time intensive or time extensive but generalized. Second, because only the direct energy requirements are addressed, only 50% of the total household energy requirement is subject to reduction. The other 50%, the indirect energy requirement, is much more difficult to calculate and address and therefore not subject to reduction.

In this paper, we describe a web-based tool that has the potential to overcome both of these shortcomings. The tool addresses direct as well as indirect energy requirements. By means of a simple expert system participants obtain personalized reduction options and feedback on the energy reduced. The tool was tested in Groningen (the Netherlands) with a sample of 300 households, resulting in a direct energy reduction of about 8.5% compared to a control group. The reduction in indirect energy was not statistically significant.

Abstract

In this study we differentiate the penetration of appliances in Mexican households according to income, and study its implications on commercial energy use and CO₂ emissions in 1996 and 2006. We found that inequity in energy and CO₂ emissions among income groups resulted to be higher in 2006 than in 1996. The share of household energy consumption for the first six income deciles decreased (from 45.5 to 38.9%), and differences in CO₂ emissions among income groups resulted even higher. The study also shows an important reduction of commercial energy used for cooking due to decrease in unit energy consumption, and increase in the share of water heating and electric appliances in household commercial energy consumption due to increase in appliance ownership especially in higher income groups. From 1996 to 2006 CO₂ emissions per household was reduced due to higher gas appliance efficiency and reduction of electricity emission factor.

Abstract

A proper analysis (an evaluation) of the environmental load of consumption is important in the context of sustainable development. Presently, different methods are used to calculate the environmental load of household consumption, mainly in energy and or greenhouse gas emission terms. These methods are all based on input–output energy analysis, but use different data sources and produce different results. In this article, we discern and describe three methods used to calculate the total energy requirements of households, and we discuss the main results produced with these methods. All three methods are applied to the Netherlands in order to compare differences and similarities in the results. We found that the total energy requirement calculated with all three methods was almost the same, with differences less than 4%, however each method provides results at a different level. Basic energy input–output analysis generates total requirements and requirements per consumption category, and is therefore suitable for describing and explaining the effect of household consumption. The hybrid method combining energy input–output analysis with process analysis generates requirements per consumption item and therefore offers opportunities to search for options of change of household consumption patterns to more sustainable consumption.

Abstract

Based on the application of a Consumer Lifestyle Approach (CLA), this paper quantifies the direct and indirect impact of lifestyle of urban and rural residents on China's energy use and the related CO₂ emissions during the period 1999–2002. The results show that approximately 26 per cent of total energy consumption and 30 per cent of CO₂ emission every year are a consequence of residents’ lifestyles, and the economic activities to support these demands. For urban residents the indirect impact on energy consumption is 2.44 times greater than the direct impact. Residence; home energy use; food; and education, cultural and recreation services are the most energy-intensive and carbon-emission-intensive activities. For rural residents, the direct impact on energy consumption is 1.86 times that of the indirect, and home energy use; food; education, and cultural recreation services; and personal travel are the most energy-intensive and carbon-emission-intensive activities. This paper provides quantitative evidence for energy conservation and environmental protection focused policies. China's security for energy supply is singled out as a serious issue for government policy-makers, and we suggest that government should harmonize the relationships between stakeholders to determine rational strategies.

Abstract

This paper explores how Greece’s household consumption has changed between 1990 and 2006 and its environmental implications in terms of fossil fuel demand and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. The results show that the 44% increase in Greece’s household expenditure between 1990 and 2006 was accompanied by a 67% increase in fossil fuel demand. Of this total, indirect demand accounted for approximately 60% throughout the 16-year period, increasing by 56% overall, whereas direct fossil fuel demand grew by 80%. The results also show that associated CO₂ emissions increased by 60%, resulting in a “relative decoupling” from energy demand. This relative decoupling is shown to be due to fossil fuel mix changes from the supply side rather than action from consumers. These insights highlight the opportunities for demand-side policies to further reduce fossil fuel demand and CO₂ emissions, allowing Greece to set more proactive and ambitious post-Kyoto targets.

Abstract

As energy conservation can be realized through changes in the composition of goods and services consumed, there is a need to assess indirect and total household energy requirements. The Korean household sector was responsible for about 52% of the national primary energy requirement in the period from 1980 to 2000. Of this total, more than 60% of household energy requirement was indirect. Thus, not only direct but also indirect household energy requirement should be the target of energy conservation policies. Electricity became the main fuel in household energy use in 2000. Households consume more and more electricity intensive goods and services, a sign of increasing living standards. Increases in household consumption expenditure were responsible for a relatively high growth of energy consumption. Switching to consumption of less energy intensive products and decrease in energy intensities of products in 1990s contributed substantially to reduce the increase in the total household energy requirement. A future Korean study should apply a hybrid method as to reduce errors occurred by using uniform (average) prices in constructing energy input–output tables and as to make energy intensities of different years more comparable.

Abstract

This study examines the influence of US–China trade on national and global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂). The three basic questions are as follows: (1) What amount of CO₂ emissions is avoided in the US by importing Chinese goods? (2) How much are CO₂ emissions in China increased as a result of the production of goods for export to the US? and (3) What are the impacts of US–China trade on global CO₂ emissions? Our initial findings reveal that during 1997–2003: (1) US CO₂ emissions would have increased from 3% to 6% if the goods imported from China had been produced in the US, (2) About 7%–14% of China's current CO₂ emissions were a result of producing exports for US consumers, and (3) US–China trade has increased global CO₂ emissions by an estimated 720 million metric tons. We suggest that the export of US technologies and expertise related to clean production and energy efficiency to China could be a “win–win” strategy for both countries for reducing their trade imbalance and mitigating global CO₂ emissions. Improved international accounting methodologies for assigning responsibility for CO₂ emissions must be designed to account for the dynamic nature of international trade.

Abstract

This article examines whether there exists any causal relationship between foreign trade and declining pollution in developed countries. In other words, do developed countries outsource their problems to less developed countries rather than solve them? The case study is the Swedish economy and the two environmental indicators employed are energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. No causal relationships are found, since Sweden has long been a net exporter of embodied energy and CO₂ and continues to be so after 1970, when energy consumption stabilizes and CO₂ emissions decline. In addition, the ratios of net exported energy and CO₂ to total consumption remain stable, which means there were no effects on the energy intensity or CO₂ intensity either. These results suggest that internal forces, like efficiency improvements, changed consumption patterns and transformation of the energy system, have been crucial for relative environmental improvement in Sweden, while foreign trade has played no role.

Abstract

The estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with international trade and final consumption gives a more complete and balanced picture of the responsibilities of various countries for the emissions that cause the climate change. The aim of this study was to look at the impact of the coverage of the GHGs and their sources and assumptions regarding the emissions of imports on the results of GHG emissions associated with international trade and final consumption of Finland. In addition to a single year study, a trend covering years 1990–2003 was produced for Finland to study the development of the GHG emissions associated with domestic consumption and the reasons behind the development. According to our results Finland was in 1999 a net exporter of CO₂ from fossil fuel combustion, CO₂ from all sources and GHGs of 4(4.2), 5 or 7 Gkg, respectively. The impact of different assumptions concerning the emissions embodied in imports in the case of Finland was tested by using the domestic emission intensities and the ratios of embodied emissions in imports in relation to domestic products by utilizing the data from the study by (OECD, 2003b. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Embodied in International Trade of Goods, STI Working Paper 2003/15, OECD, Paris). In the case of Finland, the differences of results calculated with these two methods remained rather small. The total emissions embodied in the imports changed from 33.8 to 34.4 Gkg and consequently the net export of CO₂ from fossil fuel combustion changed from 4.2 to 3.6 Gkg. The results for 1990–2003 show that the GHG emissions embodied in the exports have exceeded the GHG emissions embodied in the imports from early 1990s. The reason for the increasingly positive GHG trade balance in the case of Finland has been the change in the magnitude of trade rather than the changes in its structure. The results show also that the impact of international transport on the emission intensity of imports is significant and merits further research.

Abstract

In this paper, the consumer lifestyle approach is applied to analyze the impact of consumption by urban and rural households on energy use and CO₂ emissions for different regions and income levels in China. Grey Model is used to compare the relationship between energy consumption, consumption expenditure and CO₂ emissions for different lifestyles. The results show that direct energy consumption is diverse for urban households and simple for rural households in China. Direct energy consumption and CO₂ emissions are increasing faster for urban than for rural households. Indirect energy consumption and CO₂ emissions for urban households are much greater than the direct consumption values. The total indirect energy consumption and CO₂ emissions differ by regions and the structures are different, but the latter differences are not obvious. The impact of household income is enormous. Indirect energy consumption and CO₂ emissions are higher for high-income than for low-income households. The structural difference for indirect energy consumption and CO₂ emissions for households with different income levels is significant. The higher the income, the more diverse is the energy consumption and CO₂ emission structure. The structures for indirect energy use and CO₂ emissions are diverse for urban households, but simple for rural households.

Abstract

Variation in household CO₂ emissions between and within countries may have important consequences for the equity dimension of climate policies. In this study we aim to identify some determinants of national household CO₂ emissions and their distribution across income groups. For that purpose, we quantify the CO₂ emissions of households in the Netherlands, UK, Sweden and Norway around the year 2000 by combining a hybrid approach of process analysis and input–output analysis with data on household expenditures. Our results show that average households in the Netherlands and the UK give rise to higher amounts of CO₂ emissions than households in Sweden and Norway. Moreover, CO₂ emission intensities of household consumption decrease with increasing income in the Netherlands and the UK, whereas they increase in Sweden and Norway. A comparison of the national results at the product level points out that country characteristics, like energy supply, population density and the availability of district heating, influence variation in household CO₂ emissions between and within countries.