Indirect CO₂ Emissions from Household Consumption in China: Quantification and Key Emission Reduction Path Analysis

The continuous expansion of household consumption drives the development of upstream industrial chain, and thus causes substantial indirect CO₂ emissions. In order to mitigate carbon emission reduction pressure, the indirect CO₂ emissions from household consumption of China in 2017 were calculated using the environmental input-output model, and the key emission paths in the upstream industrial chain of household consumption were identified. The results show that: (1) The indirect CO₂ emissions from household consumption of China in 2017 were 2 817 million tons; (2) Emissions varied greatly among different sectors, of which the electric power and thermal production industry, transportation, storage and postal industry, chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry accounted for 75% of total emissions; (3) The first four industrial layers contributed 72% to the total emissions; (4) The key paths of indirect CO₂ emissions in layer 0 included electric power and thermal production industry, transportation, storage, postal industry, and other services industries; (5) There are 18 critical paths of CO₂ emissions in layers 1 to 3, with the characteristics of “sectoral aggregation” and “self-circulation”. Based on the results of path analysis, this study pointed out that emission reduction in layer 0 depends on the direct CO₂ emission intensity control of key sectors such as power and transportation and the advocacy of green consumption behavior, and reasonable consumption demand of food manufacturing and service sectors. Emission reduction in layers 1 to 3 mainly depends on cross-sectoral cooperation, and attention should be paid to the chain reaction of key sectors such as power and agriculture.