Regional Disparities in Emissions of Rural Household Energy Consumption: A Case Study of Northwest China

• Main Authors: Wenheng Wu, Hongying Zhu, Yinghao Qu, Kaiying Xu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2017-05-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: rural household energy consumption; disparities in emissions; carbon emissions; China
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/5/726

The purpose of this paper is to present the emissions status of multiple rural areas from the perspective of a field survey and make up for the defects of the traditional emission cognition of single type of area. The basic data in the lower reaches of the Weihe River of Northwest China were collected through household questionnaire surveys, and emissions from rural household energy consumption were calculated in the paper. In addition, the grey relational analysis method was used to identify influential factors of emission disparities. The results show that the total emissions of the plain, loess tableland, and Qinling piedmont areas are 1863.20, 1850.43, and 2556.68 kg, respectively. Regional disparities in emissions of rural household energy consumption vary greatly. CO2 emissions are highest in the Qinling piedmont area, followed by the loess tableland area. For other emissions, there is no fixed order of the three areas, which suggests that disparities in emissions are connected with the dominant type of energy consumption. Diversification of energy use might not necessarily produce higher emissions, but the traditional biomass energy pattern does generate more emissions. The regional supply capacity of household energy is the original influence factor of disparities in emissions, and factors that influence these disparities are directly related to differences among farmers, followed by the age structure, educational background, income level, occupation, and so on.