Determinants of household carbon emissions: Pathway toward eco-community in Beijing

Based on the household survey of “household energy consumption and living conditions in Beijing”, in this paper, we estimate the determinants of household carbon emissions and its relation to a community's building, neighborhood and location attributes. We find that a community with energy-saving building attributes and with greater amenities in neighborhood significantly reduces the level of residential household carbon emissions. Meanwhile, a community that is far from public facilities tends to increase the probability of car purchase and results in higher transportation carbon emissions. Given the implications these findings have on eco-communities and urban sustainability, we further discuss the importance of the role of a community when conducting ecological studies and its role for designing strategies for urban ecological infrastructure (UEI) planning toward eco-friendly economy and society.