Analysis of the Cause of Household Carbon Lock-In for Chinese Urban Households

Abstract

Household energy conservation is an important contributor to achieve the carbon emission reduction target. However, the actual energy-saving effect of Chinese households is under expectation. One reason for this is because household energy consumption is locked in at a certain level, which has become an obstacle to household carbon emission reduction. In order to reduce this obstacle, this study explored the cause of household carbon lock-in based on grounded theory, targeting newly furnished households. A theoretical model was developed to reveal the formation mechanism of carbon lock-in effect in the purchasing process of household energy-using appliances. NVivo 12 software was used to analyze the decoration diaries of 616 sample households, and the results showed that (1) the direct antecedent of the household carbon lock-in effect was the lock-in of purchasing behavior, and the household carbon lock-in effect was mainly exhibited in the consumption path dependence (of energy-using appliances) and the solidification of energy structure; (2) the willingness to purchase household appliances was the direct antecedent of purchasing behavioral lock-in, and the cost had a moderating effect on the transformation from purchase willingness to behavioral lock-in; and (3) in the process of purchasing household appliances, reference groups, value perception, and ecological awareness can promote purchasing behavioral lock-in by affecting willingness of purchase. Suggestions to promote unlocking of household carbon were also proposed.

Is Technological Progress Selective for Multiple Pollutant Emissions?

“…Some scholars have argued that the carbon lock-in effect is one of the major obstacles in the transition to a low-carbon economy and that carbon lock-in can lead to greater welfare losses in the absence of regulatory conditions [18]. This was also found when analyzing the energy consumption behavior of urban households [19]. This is because the path of industrial countries when building industrial systems is locked in the fossil energy-based energy system.…”

“…It also brought about quite serious pollution events such as the London toxic fog that caused thousands of deaths [15,16]. Some studies have shown that the economy's structure based on fossil energy sources has also created certain carbon lock-in and energy rebound effects [17][18][19][20]. Some scholars have argued that the carbon lock-in effect is one of the major obstacles in the transition to a low-carbon economy and that carbon lock-in can lead to greater welfare losses in the absence of regulatory conditions [18].…”