Comparison of Urban and Rural Household Direct Energy Consumption and CO2 Emissions
城乡家庭直接能源消费和CO2排放变化的分析与比较

China is in a stage of rapid development and household energy consumption and CO2 emissions are growing. Here, we analyze the characteristics and causes of urban and rural household direct energy consumption and CO2 emissions from 1991-2010. We found that urban and rural household direct energy consumption and CO2 emissions per family, and totals in these, have been rising since 1998. The reason is that before 1998, the effects of declining direct energy consumption and family size were greater than energy increases and emissions growth. Urban household direct energy consumption and CO2 emissions are higher than for rural households, but the gap is narrowing. The direct energy consumption of urban households and total CO2 emissions are higher than in rural areas, and the gap is widening. With growing urbanization, the number of urban households is increasing and the number of households in rural areas is declining. Decomposition of urban and rural per household direct energy consumption and CO2 emissions showed that the per capita consumption level is higher in urban than rural areas. The smaller scale of urban households has always meant that average direct energy consumption and CO2 emissions are lower for urban households than for rural households. Direct energy consumption structural differences promote lower average urban household direct energy consumption CO2 emissions than for rural households. This is because the direct energy consumption structure of urban areas is better than in rural areas, especially for lower raw coal proportion.