Structural Characteristics of the Household Carbon Footprint in an Aging Society

Abstract

The aging population has posed a challenge to China’s carbon neutrality pledge. To study the household carbon footprint in an aging society, this paper has combined the age-specific consumption pattern and environmental input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) to calculate the carbon footprint of household consumption across age groups, and then identified the key pathways of carbon emissions via structural path analysis (SPA). Results indicate that the elderly contribute 11.65% to total consumption-based carbon emissions. The working group (ages 15–64) has the highest average carbon footprint (0.85 tCO2e), while the elderly group (ages 65 and above) has the lowest average carbon footprint (0.82 tCO2e). Urban households of all ages have a higher carbon footprint than rural households. Housing and food are the dominant sources of the elderly carbon footprint. Notably, the production and distribution of electric power and heat power sector associated with housing energy consumption plays a leading role in the carbon emissions pathways of elderly consumption. Measuring the carbon footprint of older people can support policy designs and decision making in key sectors along the supply chain, and further encourage low-carbon lifestyles among China’s elderly. Additionally, the findings of this study have broad applications, especially for developing countries undergoing demographic transitions.