Effects of changes in residential end-uses and behavior on aggregate carbon intensity: comparison of 10 OECD countries for the period 1970 through 1993

Patterns of the evolution of aggregate carbon intensity from residential en d uses show greater variability than other sectors. For some countries in t his analysis, this measure exhibits significant decreases, while for other countries this measure exhibits significant increases over the period of an alysis. The Adaptive Weighted Divisia rolling base year index specification is applied to carbon emissions from the residential sector for 10 OECD cou ntries,for the period 1970-1993. Decreases in aggregate carbon intensity fo r six of the countries range less than 8% to almost 72%, and may be attribu ted to changes in three different factors. However, for all of the countrie s, decreases are offset by shifts in end-use structure toward more carbon-i ntensive activities. These shifts are driven by an increase in the number o f households with a corresponding increase in floor space, acquisition of g reater numbers of major appliances and by an increase in the 'other' energy consumption category. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.