School of Management, China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, Collaborative Innovation Center for Energy Economics and Energy Policy, Xiamen University, Fujian, 361005, China.
School of Management, China Institute for Studies in Energy Policy, Collaborative Innovation Center for Energy Economics and Energy Policy, Xiamen University, Fujian, 361005, China.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Nov;370:122936. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122936. Epub 2024 Oct 16.
Carbon labeling (CL) is a carbon reduction policy with development potential that has not yet been widely promoted worldwide. This study explores the trend of consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for different types of carbon-labeled products from a dynamic perspective, to provide a reference for future pilot projects. The research team collected 3788 valid questionnaires from China's first-tier cities spanning a five-year period and used interval regression to analyze the impact and change of consumer traits on WTP for the four types of carbon-labeled products in 2019 and 2024. The bootstrap method was further used to examine the impact mechanisms to explore ways to improve the current situation. This study found that (1) WTP for food, textiles, electronics, and other household products with CL generally decreased from 2019 to 2024. Textiles and electronics experienced a smaller decline, while food and other household products witnessed larger decreases. (2) The effect of consumer characteristics on WTP changes from 2019 to 2024. Consumers' frequency of low-carbon behaviors no longer significantly affects WTP across all product categories, while attitudes toward CL only affect textiles and electronics. (3) Consumers' perceived environmental value is the mechanism by which personal traits affect WTP. Finally, based on the findings, this study suggests that the selection of textiles and electronics as a pilot product is more likely to be accepted by consumers and that emphasis should be placed on the promotion of the environmental values of CL.
碳标签（CL）是一种具有发展潜力但尚未在全球范围内广泛推广的碳减排政策。本研究从动态角度探讨了消费者对不同类型碳标签产品的支付意愿（WTP）的趋势，为未来的试点项目提供参考。研究团队在五年时间内从中国一线城市收集了 3788 份有效问卷，并使用区间回归分析了消费者特征对 2019 年和 2024 年四类碳标签产品 WTP 的影响和变化。进一步采用自举法检验了影响机制，以探讨改善现状的方法。研究发现：（1）带有 CL 的食品、纺织品、电子产品和其他家用产品的 WTP 普遍从 2019 年到 2024 年呈下降趋势。纺织品和电子产品的降幅较小，而食品和其他家用产品的降幅较大。（2）消费者特征对从 2019 年到 2024 年 WTP 变化的影响。消费者低碳行为的频率不再显著影响所有产品类别的 WTP，而对 CL 的态度仅影响纺织品和电子产品。（3）消费者感知的环境价值是个人特征影响 WTP 的机制。最后，基于研究结果，本研究建议选择纺织品和电子产品作为试点产品更有可能被消费者接受，应重点宣传 CL 的环境价值。
