Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China.
School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, 100081, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Oct;27(29):36231-36241. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-09403-x. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
Climate change and income inequality are global problems with a huge impact on the environment, society, and economic development. Many studies have shown a correlation among income, the income gap, and carbon emissions, but the influence mechanism remains unclear of income and the income gap on carbon emissions. Using the input-output method, we introduce residents' consumption tendency to construct a mathematical model to discuss the mechanism of the influence of income and the income gap on indirect carbon emissions from household consumption (ICEH). Data at the national and provincial levels are used to conduct empirical research based on the model. Our model indicates four scenarios in which income and the income gap affect ICEH through residents' consumption tendency. When richer urban residents have a greater consumption tendency, a decrease in the income gap would reduce carbon emissions. The empirical results show that a decrease in the income gap is correlated with an increase in ICEH in China from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, the win-win situation of "increased income and narrowed income gap-reduced carbon emissions" is hard to achieve in China. Policymakers must urgently explore other ways to reduce carbon emissions.
气候变化和收入不平等是具有全球影响的问题，对环境、社会和经济发展都有巨大影响。许多研究表明，收入、收入差距和碳排放之间存在相关性，但收入和收入差距对碳排放的影响机制尚不清楚。本研究利用投入产出法，引入居民消费倾向，构建数学模型，讨论收入和收入差距对居民家庭消费间接碳排放（ICEH）的影响机制。利用全国和省级数据，基于该模型进行实证研究。模型表明，收入和收入差距通过居民消费倾向对 ICEH 产生影响的机制有四种情景。当较富裕的城市居民消费倾向较大时，收入差距的缩小会减少碳排放。实证结果表明，2002—2012 年，中国收入差距的缩小与 ICEH 的增加呈正相关关系。因此，在中国实现“增加收入和缩小收入差距——减少碳排放”的双赢局面较为困难。政策制定者必须紧急探索其他减少碳排放的途径。
