Global redistribution of income and household energy footprints: a computational thought experiment

Non-technical summary Global income inequality and energy consumption inequality are related. High-income households consume more energy than low-income ones, and for different purposes. Here, we explore the global household energy consumption implications of global income redistribution. We show that global income inequality shapes not only inequalities of energy consumption but the quantity and composition of overall energy demand. Our results call for the inclusion of income distribution into energy system models, as well as into energy and climate policy. Technical summary Despite a rapidly growing number of studies on the relationship between inequality and energy, there is little research estimating the effect of income redistribution on energy demand. We contribute to this debate by proposing a simple but granular and data-driven model of the global income distribution and of global household energy consumption. We isolate the effect of income distribution on household energy consumption and move beyond the assumption of aggregate income–energy elasticities. First, we model expenditure as a function of income. Second, we determine budget shares of expenditure for a variety of products and services by employing product-granular income elasticities of demand. Subsequently, we apply consumption-based final energy intensities to product and services to obtain energy footprint accounts. Testing variants of the global income distribution, we find that the ‘energy costs’ of equity are small. Equitable and inequitable distributions of income, however, entail distinct structural change in energy system terms. In an equitable world, fewer people live in energy poverty and more energy is consumed for subsistence and necessities, instead of luxury and transport. Social media summary Equality in global income shifts household energy footprints towards subsistence, while inequality shifts them towards transport and luxury.

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Features, Driving Forces and Transition of the Household Energy Consumption in China: A Review

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11041186 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1186 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Lu Jiang ◽

Xingpeng Chen ◽

Bing Xue

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Quantitative Methods ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Energy System ◽

Systemic Review ◽

Household Energy ◽

Household Energy Consumption ◽

Household Level ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative Methods

Household energy consumption has been a major contributor to the increase in global energy demand and carbon emission, and the household sector has also become one of the most crucial factors shaping the management of developments towards sustainability. However, there is still a knowledge gap regarding the household energy consumption in China. Due to the vast territory and the differences among regional conditions, it is critical to conduct a systemic review to illustrate the overall situation as well as the detailed mechanisms of the household energy consumption in China. By employing both qualitative and quantitative methods, two key features of the household energy consumption in China are presented; one is regarding the total amount and the structure of the household energy consumption, and the second is the significant urban-rural gap. The driving forces are investigated from the perspective of external determinants and internal determinants, which consist of seven key factors; finally, the transition roadmap towards the sustainable energy system for the household level are presented based on the text analysis from the four key policy documents. Weaknesses in the current research on the energy geography of household level also exist, such as the lack of single factor research and the lack of integration and comprehensive analysis. Therefore, future studies need to strengthen the research of regional household energy consumption structure, spatial-temporal process, and its motivation mechanism, and sustainable development of energy, so as to explore space-social structure of household energy consumption and spatial-temporal interaction.

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A dynamic active energy demand management system for evaluating the effect of policy scheme on household energy consumption behavior

Energy ◽

10.1016/j.energy.2015.07.131 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 91 ◽

pp. 491-506 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Biying Yu ◽

Yaming Tian ◽

Junyi Zhang

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Management System ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Demand Management ◽

Household Energy ◽

Consumption Behavior ◽

Household Energy Consumption

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Environmental Pollution, Income Inequality, and Household Energy Consumption: Evidence from the United Kingdom

Journal of International Commerce Economics and Policy ◽

10.1142/s179399331950008x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (02) ◽

pp. 1950008 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sudeshna Ghosh

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

United Kingdom ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Income Inequality ◽

Household Energy ◽

Household Energy Consumption ◽

Household Level ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Long Run ◽

The Impact

This study explored the impact of income inequality, household energy consumption, government expenditure, and investment on carbon dioxide emissions at the household level over the period 1970–2015 in the United Kingdom. The study applied Clemente–Montanes–Reyes unit root test to identify structural break in the time series. Further, the cointegrating relationship of the time series observations was explored by applying the autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL) (linear) bounds test approach along with the nonlinear ARDL for making fruitful comparisons in the long-run relationship among the variables. The paper used Bayer–Hanck combined cointegration method for robustness test in the cointegrating methods. In addition, the causality analysis was explored using the Toda–Yamato (1995) method of Granger causality. The results confirmed the existence of cointegration among the variables.The estimated NARDL results show that in the long run the negative asymmetric impact of the income inequality is stronger than the positive impact. The paper concludes that there is an urgent need to reduce income inequality in the United Kingdom to improve equitable consumption of energy at the household level. Last the causality test shows that there exists unidirectional causality from inequality transmission to carbon emissions.

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Conceptualizing Household Energy Metabolism: A Methodological Contribution

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12214125 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (21) ◽

pp. 4125 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Adél Strydom ◽

Josephine Kaviti Musango ◽

Paul K. Currie

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Metabolism ◽

National Level ◽

Energy System ◽

Urban Metabolism ◽

Level Energy ◽

Household Energy ◽

Household Energy Consumption ◽

Household Level ◽

Urban Energy

Urban metabolism assessments enable the quantification of resource flows, which is useful for finding intervention points for sustainability. At a household level, energy metabolism assessments can reveal intervention points to reshape household energy consumption and inform decision-makers about a more sustainable urban energy system. However, a gap in the current urban metabolism research reveals that existing household energy consumption studies focus on outflows in the form of greenhouse gas emissions, and have been mostly undertaken at the city or national level. To address this gap, this study developed a method to assess household energy metabolism focusing on direct energy inflows in the form of carriers, and through-flows in the form of services, to identify intervention points for sustainability. Then, this method was applied to assess the energy metabolism of different households in Cape Town, South Africa, as categorized by income groups. The study argued that the developed method is useful for undertaking bottom–up household energy metabolic assessments in both formal and informal city settings in which more than one energy carrier is used. In cities where only national or city-level data exists, it provides a method for understanding how different households consume different energy carriers differently.

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ENERGY KNOWLEDGE IN INFLUENCING HOUSEHOLD’S ENERGY CONSERVATION BEHAVIOUR

Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management ◽

10.35631/jthem.626019 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (26) ◽

pp. 215-222

Author(s):

Nur Azzlin Mangsor ◽

Low Sheau-Ting

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Conservation ◽

Psychological Factors ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Household Energy ◽

Household Energy Consumption ◽

Residential Sector ◽

Increasing Trend

Malaysia needs to ensure stable energy consumption to improve environmental quality and energy security. The increasing trend of the country’s population growth and economic development are parallel with the country’s overall energy demand. The building sector, commercial and residential sector has contributed to more than 12% of the country's final energy consumption in the year 2018. The energy demand from the household sector is on an increasing trend. The residential sector is responsible for the increasing trend of energy consumption with the improvement of lifestyle and living standards. Variation in residents’ behaviour can cause significant differences in energy consumption due to dwellings, household size, income, and building energy consumption. Past studies have shown the identification of the relevant psychological factors that formulating energy conservation behaviour contributed to household energy consumption reduction. By focusing on the psychological dimension, this study explores the role of energy knowledge in influencing energy conservation behaviour among households in Malaysia. Energy knowledge is about the household’s understanding in the context of energy-saving and consumption. Despite massive information and awareness of climate change about the contribution of climate change from household energy consumption, many households still do not practice energy conservation actively. By conducting a systematic literature review, this study found that energy knowledge plays an essential role in influencing household energy conservation behaviour. The findings of this study could help the institutions and relevant authorities to gain a better understanding of the role of energy knowledge as one of the psychological factors in household energy conservation behaviour.

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An Overview of Household Energy Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Iran

Processes ◽

10.3390/pr8080994 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 994

Author(s):

Omeid Rahmani ◽

Shahabaldin Rezania ◽

Amin Beiranvand Pour ◽

Shahram M. Aminpour ◽

Mohammad Soltani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Carbon Dioxide ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Liquefied Petroleum Gas ◽

Household Energy ◽

Household Energy Consumption ◽

Energy Efficiency Improvement

This review tends to obtain a deeper understanding of the methods used in household energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Iran. Issues relating to energy consumption and CO2 emissions are very complex. This complexity arises from the fact that energy demand and energy consumption in Iran are influenced by many factors, such as income, household size, age, and gender. In Iran, the relevant energy sources mostly include liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and electricity, which are used for different sectors, such as transportation, industry, and residential. This overview looks at both the theories and empirical studies of household energy consumption and CO2 emissions in Iran. Since energy consumption typically results in air pollution, it is often used as an indicator of environmental degradation. Although Iran is recently faced to energy efficiency improvement from all sectors, household energy requirements have been significantly increased. In Iran, a prime motivator had been improving living standards. As Iran gradually turns into a consumer society, households have an enormous influence on the direct use of energy and related CO2 emissions as well as through indirect use, as embodied in goods and services. The findings of this study can help policymakers to focus on renewable energy projects in order to reduce energy consumption and mitigate CO2 emissions.

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