Open AccessHousehold transitions to clean energy in a multiprovincial cohort study in China
Author(s) -
Ellison Carter,
Yan Li,
Yu Fu,
Brian E. Robinson,
Frank J. Kelly,
Paul Elliott,
Yangfeng Wu,
Liyan Zhao,
Majid Ezzati,
Xudong Yang,
Queenie Chan,
Jill Baumgartner
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nature sustainability
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.514
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2398-9629
DOI - 10.1038/s41893-019-0432-x
Subject(s) - stove , solid fuel , coal , cohort , china , environmental health , clean energy , waste management , business , environmental science , environmental protection , geography , medicine , engineering , chemistry , combustion , organic chemistry , archaeology
Household solid fuel (biomass, coal) burning contributes to climate change and is a leading health risk factor. How and why households stop using solid fuel stoves after adopting clean fuels has not been studied. We assessed trends in the uptake, use, and suspension of household stoves and fuels in a multi-provincial cohort study of 753 Chinese adults and evaluated determinants of clean fuel uptake and solid fuel suspension. Over one-third (35%) and one-fifth (17%) of participants suspended use of solid fuel for cooking and heating, respectively, during the past 20 years. Determinants of solid fuel suspension (younger age, widowed) and of earlier suspension (younger age, higher education, and poor self-reported health status) differed from the determinants of clean fuel uptake (younger age, higher income, smaller households, and retired) and of earlier adoption (higher income). Clean fuel adoption and solid fuel suspension warrant joint consideration as indicators of household energy transition. Household energy research and planning efforts that more closely examine solid fuel suspension may accelerate household energy transitions that benefit climate and human health.