【Speaker】：Prof. Zhifu Mi (University College London)

【Title】：Impacts of Household Size and Structure on China’s Carbon Emissions

【Time】：10:00am, Apr 15, 2026.

【Location】：Beijing Lab for System Engineering of Carbon Neutrality

【About Report】：Chinese households are characterised by shrinking size and declining fertility rates. These demographic changes are affecting residential consumption patterns and carbon emission levels. To explore differences in consumption behaviour and carbon footprints across households of varying sizes and structures, this study adopts an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output model combined with empirical analysis based on Chinese household consumption survey data. The results show that per capita household carbon footprints decline as household size increases. Even among households of the same size, per capita carbon footprints differ significantly across structural types; households with fewer children generally have lower emission levels. In addition, household carbon footprints exhibit marked regional and urban-rural heterogeneity, while such gaps narrow with rising household size. The impacts of household size and structure should be fully considered when designing climate mitigation policies.