A0845
Title: Still using solid fuels: Energy poverty in urban areas with different fuel use patterns
Authors: Xinyi Wang - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong) [presenting]
Laurence Delina - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong)
Kira Matus - The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong)
Yueming Qiu - University of Maryland (United States)
Abstract: Despite the development of energy transitions and urbanization, traditional solid fuel use persists in urban areas worldwide. However, energy poverty regarding the use of solid fuels in urban areas has been overlooked in energy literature and policy. The household-level demographic and energy data is drawn on in urban China, and a three-way typology of energy poverty is proposed regarding the using solid fuels in urban areas: (1) traditional fuel only, (2) Dirty stacking of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and traditional fuels, and (3) Dirty stacking of gas infrastructure and traditional fuels. A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) technique is employed to explore the most important drivers for the three fuel use patterns, respectively. It also explores the contribution of the drivers to the models by using Shapley decomposition. Findings suggest that the pattern of "traditional fuel only" fuel use is driven primarily by people's income and education level. The pattern of "LPG stacking with traditional fuels" is driven mainly by living in old-aged housing. The pattern of "gas infrastructure stacking with traditional fuels" is influenced mainly by people's family types. The distinctions between the three fuel use patterns suggest that policies should treat the related populations differently.
