PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2013, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (7): 1072-1081.doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2013.07.010

• Urban Geography • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Lifestyle's impact on carbon emissions from urban housholds' space heating: A case study of Kaifeng City

ZHANG Yan1,2,3   

  1. 1. School of Environment Science and Tourism, Nanyang Normal University, Nanyang 473061, China;
    2. Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China;
    3. College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
  • Received:2013-03-01 Revised:2013-06-01 Online:2013-07-25 Published:2013-07-25

Abstract: With the acceleration of urbanization and the increase of households' energy consumption for heating in winter, the impact of carbon emissions from households' space heating on the environment has become prominent. Although the issue of carbon emissions has received attention from many scholars, microscopic study on the mechanism of carbon emissions is still lacking. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between lifestyle and carbon emissions from households' space heating. Based on the lifestyle theory and related review articles, the indices of lifestyle factors related to households' space heating are selected, including living space, heating method, length of heating, family size, income, and so on. Through the analysis of the impact of lifestyle factors on carbon emissions, a conceptual model of carbon emissions from urban households' space heating is established, and it shows that heating method, length of heating, living space have direct effects, while family size, income, attitude towards space heating have indirect effects. Based on valid questionnaires from 792 households in a survey in Kaifeng City from December 25, 2011 to January 6, 2012, the features of per capita CO2 emissions from the 792 households' space heating are analyzed, and the influencing factors are analyzed using multiple regression method. The results are as follows: (1) there is a close relationship between the lifestyle and carbon emissions from households' space heating. The quantity of per capita CO2 emissions from housholds' space heating varies with family characteristics, heating methods, attitudes towards space heating; (2) for each family lifestyle index has significant effects on per capita CO2 emissions, among which living space, heating method, length of heating, and family size are the major ones; (3) per capita CO2 emissions from households' space heating can be regulated by changing to high-efficiency carbon heating methods, controlling the increase of living space, and so on.

Key words: carbon emissions, influencing factors, Kaifeng City, lifestyle, space heating, urban household