Residential energy use accounts for roughly 20% of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Using data on 93 million
individual households, we estimate these GHGs across the contiguous
United States and clarify the respective influence of climate,
affluence, energy infrastructure, urban form, and building attributes
(age, housing type, heating fuel) in driving these emissions. A
ranking by state reveals that GHGs (per unit floor space) are lowest
in Western US states and highest in Central states. Wealthier Americans
have per capita footprints ∼25%higher than those of lower-income
residents, primarily due to larger homes. In especially affluent suburbs,
these emissions can be 15 times higher than nearby neighborhoods.
If the electrical grid is decarbonized, then the residential
housing sector can meet the 28% emission reduction target for
2025 under the Paris Agreement. However, grid decarbonization
will be insufficient to meet the 80% emissions reduction target for
2050 due to a growing housing stock and continued use of fossil
fuels (natural gas, propane, and fuel oil) in homes. Meeting this
target will also require deep energy retrofits and transitioning to
distributed low-carbon energy sources, as well as reducing per
capita floor space and zoning denser settlement patterns.
Source
Goldstein, Benjamin, Dimitrios Gounaridis, and Joshua P. Newell. "The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 32 (2020): 19122-19130.
Benjamin Goldstein, Dimitrios Gounaridis and Joshua P. Newell, "The carbon footprint of household energy use in the United States", contributed by Alison Kenner, The Energy Rights Project, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 8 January 2021, accessed 25 April 2024. https://energyrights.info/content/carbon-footprint-household-energy-use-united-states
Critical Commentary
Abstract:
Residential energy use accounts for roughly 20% of greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. Using data on 93 million
individual households, we estimate these GHGs across the contiguous
United States and clarify the respective influence of climate,
affluence, energy infrastructure, urban form, and building attributes
(age, housing type, heating fuel) in driving these emissions. A
ranking by state reveals that GHGs (per unit floor space) are lowest
in Western US states and highest in Central states. Wealthier Americans
have per capita footprints ∼25%higher than those of lower-income
residents, primarily due to larger homes. In especially affluent suburbs,
these emissions can be 15 times higher than nearby neighborhoods.
If the electrical grid is decarbonized, then the residential
housing sector can meet the 28% emission reduction target for
2025 under the Paris Agreement. However, grid decarbonization
will be insufficient to meet the 80% emissions reduction target for
2050 due to a growing housing stock and continued use of fossil
fuels (natural gas, propane, and fuel oil) in homes. Meeting this
target will also require deep energy retrofits and transitioning to
distributed low-carbon energy sources, as well as reducing per
capita floor space and zoning denser settlement patterns.