The Measurement And Causes Of Energy Poverty Of Rural Households In China

Energy is the most basic element to maintain production,life and long-term sustainable development,and it plays an important and irreplaceable role in promoting economic development and social progress.However,due to factors such as income,education,employment,etc.,there are still some groups unable to equitably obtain and safely use energy,which leads to energy poverty.As the largest developing country in the world,although the living standards of residents have improved significantly,the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of economic development,income,and basic public services is still significant.rural households have insufficient effective access to and consumption of clean energy,such as liquefied petroleum gas,natural gas,and coal gas.This makes the problem of energy poverty more worse in rural areas in China.Due to the lack of data on the energy consumption of rural households in China,the incidence,depth and causes of rural energy poverty are still being explored.Therefore,rural energy poverty has become an important issue in the process of rural development and narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas in China after 2020.In order to achieve the research purpose,the research context of this article is as follows: First,complete the concept definition and literature review,and analyze the current status and changes of energy consumption in rural households in China.Second,measure energy poverty to show that energy poverty in various regions of China is different.Third,analyze the causes of energy poverty of rural households in China.Fourth,make suggestions on alleviating rural energy poverty in China.Through analysis,this article draws following main research conclusions:First,the energy consumption pattern of rural households has shifted from non-clean energy consumption to clean energy.The use of traditional biomass energy and coal has gradually decreased,and the use of electricity,liquefied petroleum gas,natural gas and coal gas has increased.Second,the energy poverty line of rural households in my country is measured as 388 yuan/year.When the per capita energy consumption expenditure of a rural household is less than 388 yuan/year,the household has energy poverty;otherwise,there is no energy poverty.Third,the measurement of the breadth,depth,difference and Sen index of energy poverty shows that energy poverty of rural households is still serious,and poverty levels are heterogeneous among the eastern,central,and western regions.The energy poverty rate of rural households is 50.3%,of which 35.3% in the eastern region,52.4% in the central region,and 55.4% in the western region.The energy poverty depth of rural households nationwide is 0.42,of which the eastern region is 0.29,the central region is 0.42,and the western region is 0.46.The energy poverty Sen index of rural households is 0.23,of which the eastern region is 0.15,the central region is 0.28,and the western region is 0.32.Fourth,analyze the causes of energy poverty in rural households from the three dimensions of economy,family characteristics and society.The incidence of energy poverty in rural households is inversely proportional to household income,education level,social employment and social insurance purchases,and directly proportional to energy prices and household size.In terms of different regions,the reasons for the energy poverty of rural households in the eastern region are the size of the household and the purchase of social insurance.The causes of energy poverty in rural households in the central and western regions are per capita household income,energy prices,household size,education level,and social employment choices.The possible innovations in this article are reflected in following aspects:First,based on the micro-family perspective,combined with the unaffordability and unavailability of energy poverty,it analyzes the consumption capacity,consumption structure,consumption accessibility,total consumption,consumption pattern of rural households in China.Second,this article measures the overall degree and regional differences of energy poverty in rural households from a micro perspective.Third,this article analyzes the micro-causes of rural energy poverty from the three dimensions of economy,family characteristics and society.This study believes that rural energy poverty can be alleviated from the following aspects: First,strengthen the promotion of modern clean energy and change the concept of traditional energy consumption.Second,improve the educational level of rural families and increase their modern clean energy consumption capacity.Third,improve energy price setting and steadily increase the income level of rural households.Fourth,improve the employment guidance for rural families and improve the rural social security system.