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Energy Cost of Living and Associated Pollution for Beijing Residents
Author(s) -
Arvesen Anders,
Liu Jingru,
Hertwich Edgar G.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-9290.2010.00265.x
Subject(s) - beijing , agricultural economics , energy consumption , china , industrial ecology , efficient energy use , natural resource economics , environmental quality , population , pollution , environmental science , carbon dioxide equivalent , environmental pollution , business , economics , greenhouse gas , environmental protection , geography , sustainability , environmental health , ecology , medicine , archaeology , biology
Summary China's remarkable economic growth in the last 3 decades has brought about big improvements in quality of life while simultaneously contributing to serious environmental problems. The aim of all economic activities is, ultimately, to provide the population with products and services. Analyzing environmental impacts of consumption can be valuable for illuminating underlying drivers for energy use and emissions in society. This study applies an environmentally extended input‐output analysis to estimate household environmental impact (HEI) of urban Beijing households at different levels of development. The analysis covers direct and indirect energy use and emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and nitrogen oxide (NO x ). On the basis of observations of how HEI varies across income groups, prospects for near‐future changes in HEI are discussed. Results indicate that in 2007, an urban resident in Beijing used, on average, 52 gigajoules of total primary energy supply. The corresponding annual emissions were 4.2 tonnes CO 2 , 27 kilograms SO 2 , and 17 kilograms NO x . Of this, only 18% to 34% was used or emitted by the households directly. While the overall expenditure elasticity of energy use is around 0.9, there is a higher elasticity of energy use associated with transport. The results suggest that significant growth in HEI can be expected in the near future, even with substantial energy efficiency improvements.