Can we improve well‐being while reducing carbon emissions? Household‐level evidence from China.
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| Title: | Can we improve well‐being while reducing carbon emissions? Household‐level evidence from China. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Yu, Jiaming1,2 (AUTHOR), Liu, Wenling3 (AUTHOR), Meng, Xiaoyan4 (AUTHOR), Zheng, Xinzhu1 (AUTHOR) zhengxinzhu810@163.com |
| Source: | Journal of Industrial Ecology. Dec2025, Vol. 29 Issue 6, p2098-2113. 16p. |
| Subjects: | Well-being, Carbon emissions, Individual differences, Population of China, Empirical research, Technological progress |
| Geographic Terms: | China |
| Abstract: | Understanding the link between well‐being and carbon emissions is crucial, as demand‐side emission reduction efforts should not compromise living standards. While a nonlinear, threshold‐based relationship between well‐being and carbon emissions has been identified at the national level, empirical evidence at the household or individual level remains limited. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study develops a multidimensional indicator framework to measure household well‐being and empirically assesses its relationship with per capita carbon emissions. The results indicate an inverted U‐shaped relationship, where carbon emissions are initially associated with improvements in well‐being. However, beyond a certain threshold, further increases in carbon emissions are no longer linked to significant gains in well‐being. Specifically, the decoupling threshold is estimated at 15.4 tons of CO2 annually per capita in the absence of technological progress, and is reduced to 9.7 tons when technological improvements are taken into account. However, the available carbon budget is insufficient for all individuals to reach these decoupling points, and sample households could only reduce emissions by 1.4% without sacrificing overall well‐being. Moreover, prioritizing limited carbon allowances for low‐income groups may maximize societal well‐being, since their carbon intensity of human well‐being is comparatively lower. These findings underscore the importance of technological progress and population heterogeneity in designing fair and effective policies that balance well‐being with emission reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Industrial Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 189935718 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Can we improve well‐being while reducing carbon emissions? Household‐level evidence from China. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yu%2C+Jiaming%22">Yu, Jiaming</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liu%2C+Wenling%22">Liu, Wenling</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meng%2C+Xiaoyan%22">Meng, Xiaoyan</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zheng%2C+Xinzhu%22">Zheng, Xinzhu</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zhengxinzhu810@163.com</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Industrial+Ecology%22">Journal of Industrial Ecology</searchLink>. Dec2025, Vol. 29 Issue 6, p2098-2113. 16p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well-being%22">Well-being</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Carbon+emissions%22">Carbon emissions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Individual+differences%22">Individual differences</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Population+of+China%22">Population of China</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Empirical+research%22">Empirical research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technological+progress%22">Technological progress</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22China%22">China</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Understanding the link between well‐being and carbon emissions is crucial, as demand‐side emission reduction efforts should not compromise living standards. While a nonlinear, threshold‐based relationship between well‐being and carbon emissions has been identified at the national level, empirical evidence at the household or individual level remains limited. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study develops a multidimensional indicator framework to measure household well‐being and empirically assesses its relationship with per capita carbon emissions. The results indicate an inverted U‐shaped relationship, where carbon emissions are initially associated with improvements in well‐being. However, beyond a certain threshold, further increases in carbon emissions are no longer linked to significant gains in well‐being. Specifically, the decoupling threshold is estimated at 15.4 tons of CO2 annually per capita in the absence of technological progress, and is reduced to 9.7 tons when technological improvements are taken into account. However, the available carbon budget is insufficient for all individuals to reach these decoupling points, and sample households could only reduce emissions by 1.4% without sacrificing overall well‐being. Moreover, prioritizing limited carbon allowances for low‐income groups may maximize societal well‐being, since their carbon intensity of human well‐being is comparatively lower. These findings underscore the importance of technological progress and population heterogeneity in designing fair and effective policies that balance well‐being with emission reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Industrial Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1111/jiec.70097 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 2098 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Well-being Type: general – SubjectFull: Carbon emissions Type: general – SubjectFull: Individual differences Type: general – SubjectFull: Population of China Type: general – SubjectFull: Empirical research Type: general – SubjectFull: Technological progress Type: general – SubjectFull: China Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Can we improve well‐being while reducing carbon emissions? Household‐level evidence from China. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Yu, Jiaming – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Liu, Wenling – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Meng, Xiaoyan – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Zheng, Xinzhu IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 12 Text: Dec2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 10881980 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 29 – Type: issue Value: 6 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Industrial Ecology Type: main |
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