Influence of Population Density on CO2 Emissions Eliminating the Influence of Climate

Abstract

More than 50% of the world’s population lives in cities. Its buildings consume more than a third of the energy and generate 40% of the emissions. This makes cities in general and their buildings in particular priority points of attention for policymakers and utilities. This paper uses population density as a variable to know its influence on energy consumption and emissions produced in buildings. Furthermore, to show its effect more clearly, the influence of the climate was eliminated. The usual energy consumption in buildings is thermal and electrical. The study was carried out at the city level, both per inhabitant and per household. The area actually occupied by the city was considered. The proposed method was applied to the case of Spanish cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants. The results show that the higher the population density, the higher the energy consumption per inhabitant and household in buildings. The consumption of thermal energy is elastic, while that of electrical energy is inelastic, varying more than 100% between extreme groups. Regarding CO2 emissions, the higher the population density, the higher the emissions. Emissions of electrical origin barely vary by 2% and are greater than those of thermal origin. In addition, the proportion of emissions of electrical origin, with respect to the total, decreases with increasing population density from 74% to 55%. This research aims to help policymakers and utilities to take the appropriate measures that favor the use of renewable energies and reduce CO2 emissions.

Do renewable energy consumption and financial development contribute to environmental quality in MINT nations? Implications for sustainable development

“…Therefore, for the MINT nations, PD boosts ecological quality. This outcome corroborates the studies of (Meng and Han, 2018;Zarco-Periñán et al, 2021); however, it refutes the studies of (Gyamfi et al, 2022), who found that increasing PD may be a compression in the overall land area and its marginal use, which might increase the EF.…”

“…Thus, it is clear that PD and EF nexus have produced mixed findings. For instance, (Zarco-Periñán et al, 2021), scrutinized the role of PD in the mitigation of ecological dilapidation. Population density is used in the research to determine how it affects emissions and energy use from buildings.…”

Evaluating Environmental Sustainability in Africa: The Role of Environmental Taxes, Productive Capacities, and Urbanization Dynamics

“…Positive coefficients observed in both the short term (0.224) and long term (0.301) suggest that higher population density is correlated with increased GHG emissions, challenging the notion of a simple relationship between population density and environmental quality. This finding is consistent with Zarco-Periñán et al (2021), who found an association between higher population density and increased CO 2 emissions, particularly in urban areas. Similarly, Dimnwobi et al (2021) highlighted the significant role of population growth and density in exacerbating environmental degradation across Africa.…”

Analysis of Carbon Emission Efficiency in the Yellow River Basin in China: Spatiotemporal Differences and Influencing Factors

“…When the urban population density is higher, the carbon emissions of energy consumption and heat source emissions of the city will also increase accordingly [59].…”