Exploring the Changing Gap of Residential Energy Consumption per Capita in China and the Netherlands: A Comparative Analysis of Driving Forces

Abstract

This paper brings out some remarkable differences between China as a developing country experiencing high economic growth and the Netherlands as a developed country by examining the driving forces behind the evolution of residential energy consumption per capita (RECpc) in the two countries in the period from 2001 to 2015. The components we analysed are income, energy-intensity, weather and energy-mix effects. The most remarkable result is the changing effect of energy intensity in China: during 2001–2007 energy intensity increased, and decreased afterward. The changes reflected changes in material circumstances: the shift to relative energy intensive goods and of saturation of energy demand for heating and cooling. In the Netherlands, the declining energy intensity, warmer winters and the more diversified energy mix decreased RECpc by 511.39, 58.81 and 1.08 kgce, respectively. Although the income growth both increased RECpc in the two countries, the relatively high-speed increasing income in China narrowed the RECpc gap between the two countries. This study implies that the opposite changes in RECpc in developing and developed countries are due to the different development stages reached by the countries. Policy suggestions are being offered to deal with the different circumstances, as revealed through this study.

The Influence of Roadmap for China Phasing Out Incandescent Lamps on the Promotion of Energy-Efficient Lighting Products

“…The role of the policy on eliminating incandescent lamps in other countries and regions can be further explored in future studies to enrich existing research on LED lighting. Some novel findings have been achieved by this paper, which expands existing knowledge as follows: First, existing studies on energy-saving policies mainly discuss the effectiveness of economic incentive policies [33,34]. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the command-and-control policy of Roadmap for China Phasing Out Incandescent Lamps in promoting energy-saving and high-efficiency lighting products.…”

Exploring the influencing factors of environmental deterioration: evidence from China employing ARDL–VECM method with structural breaks

“…Conducting research on China’s sustainable development is pertinent to the world. China is the most populous developing country, the second-largest economy and the largest energy consumption and carbon emission country in the world (Nie et al , 2020). Human economic activities are the greatest threat to environmental sustainability (Pretel et al , 2016).…”