Impact of Demographic Transition on Household Energy Consumption: A Case from China

Understanding how aging population and low fertility affect household energy consumption is important for optimizing household energy consumption and reaching effective policies.This paper studies the impacts of demographic transition on household energy consumption based on panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2016.Child-age dependency rate(CDR)and old-age dependency rate(ODR)are selected to track the shifts in age structure.They are introduced into a STIRPAT model to measure their impacts on household energy consumption.Besides,8 representative regions are additionally chosen and investigated to find some regional characteristics.The results show that current demographic transition to aging population expands household energy consumption.The aging population and low fertility cause additional challenges for energy saving and emission reduction.Household energy consumption in less developed areas is more likely to be affected by CDR and ODR.Regions with large population are also more easily influenced by demographic transitions especially CDR.This study emphases the effects of demographic elements on household energy consumption.It indicates that continuous optimization of household energy consumption structures should be based on population dynamics.

Guide of Rural Household Energy Sustainability Improvement in Northern China

The percentage of traditional energy in total rural household energy consumption remains at a high level. While the proportion of high-efficient energy and renewable energy is still low. Improving rural household energy sustainability can meet economic,environmental and social needs in the overall development context of northern China. Many barriers have obstructed the rapid sustainable development of rural household energy in terms of financial,political and technical aspects. Based on relational research and case study,the paper provides guiding of rural household energy sustainability improvement in northern China from energy efficient improvement,renewable energy use and improving equitable distribution,affordability and accessibility of sustainable energy.

Household energy stacking and structures in Pakistan-Results from a multiple-energy study in Azad Kashmir and Punjab

Solid fuel use(SFU)is common in most developing countries and would release many hazardous air pollutants posing high risks on human health.The Global Burden of Disease(GBD)study highlighted risks associated with household SFU in Pakistan,however,high uncertainties prevail because of scanty data on SFU and unaccounted energy stacking.This study conducted a field campaign aiming at collecting first-hand data on household energy mix in Pakistan.The first survey was in Punjab and Azad Kashmir,and revealed that stacked energy use was pervasive,especially for cooking.The stacking was found to be much more obvious in SFU households(defined as those using SFU dominantly)compared to those non-SFU.There were significantly substantial differences between Azad Kashmir and Punjab because of distinct resources available and economic conditions.Woody materials comprised up to nearly 70% in Azad Kashmir,but in Punjab,gas was frequently used for cooking.Only investigating primary household energy would probably overestimate main energy types that being used for a longer time but underestimated other supplements,suggesting the preference of multiple-energy surveys in household energy studies.

Understanding high-emitting households in the UK through a cluster analysis

Anthropogenic climate change is a global problem that affects every country and each individual.It is largely caused by human beings emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.In general,a small percentage of the population is responsible for a large amount of emissions.This paper focuses on high emitters and their CO2 emissions from energy use in UK homes.It applies a cluster approach,aiming to identify whether the high emitters comprise clusters where households in each cluster share similar characteristics but are different from the others.The data are mainly based on the Living Cost and Food survey in the UK.The results show that after equivalising both household emissions and income,the high emitters can be clustered into six groups which share similar characteristics within each group,but are different from the others in terms of income,age,household composition,category and size of the dwelling,and tenure type.The clustering results indicate that various combinations of socioeconomic factors,such as low-income single female living in an at least six-room property,or highincome retired couple owning a large detached house,could all lead to high CO2 emissions from energy use at home.Policymakers should target each high-emitter cluster differently to reduce CO2 emissions from energy consumption at home more effectively.

Neighborhood form and CO2 emission： evidence from 23 neighborhoods in Jinan, China

To understand the household C02 emission level in China, as well as how much the neighborhoods＇ socio-economic or design factors could influence the CO2 emission, 23 neighborhoods in Jinan were investigated in 2009 and 2010. These neighborhoods fall into four different types： superblock, enclave, grid and traditional. The household CO2 emission includes sources of both in- home energy use and passenger transportation. The average CO2 emission per household is 7.66 t.a^-1, including 6.87 t in-home operational emission and 792 kg transportation emission. The household CO2 emission by neighborhood categories is 10.97, 5.65, 6.49, 5.40 t-household-1. a-1 for superblock, enclave, grid and tradi- tional respectively. Superblock has the highest average emission and also the highest percent （more than 25%） of transportation emission among four different types of neighborhoods. The residential CO2 emission of superb- lock neighborhoods in Jinan has already reached the level in developed countries nearly ten years ago. It is predictable that more superblock neighborhoods would be built in China with the fast urbanization. How to avoid the rapid household CO2 emission growth in the future would be a systematic issue. The study also found that in addition to income and apartment area, household density, land use mix and accessibility to public transportation are three primary factors which have significant impacts on CO2 emission. High density, mixed land use and convenient accessibility to public transportation tend to reduce household CO2 emission.