A life-cycle assessment framework for quantifying the carbon footprint of rural households based on survey data

Yechennan Peng; Liang Emlyn Yang; Jürgen Scheffran

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2021.101411

A life-cycle assessment framework for quantifying the carbon footprint of rural households based on survey data

MethodsX. 2021 Jun 9:8:101411. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2021.101411. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Yechennan Peng^{1

2}, Liang Emlyn Yang³, Jürgen Scheffran¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Geography, Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), University of Hamburg, Germany.
² School of Integrated Climate System Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany.
³ Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology, Kiel University, Germany.

Abstract

This paper presents the development of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) framework for quantifying the carbon footprint of individual households based on detailed household survey data. According to household consumption and production patterns, the comprehensive life-cycle assessment framework is designed with clarified life-cycle boundaries. The framework covers eight types of specific living activities of rural households generated from a large-scale household survey in the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China. Both carbon emissions and carbon sequestrations of households' consumption and production activities can be assessed, and eventually the integrative carbon footprint is evaluated. The LCA framework enables comprehensive and relatively precise assessment of carbon footprint at a household level and thus adds value to studies in the fields of carbon emission reduction, carbon neutrality and climate policies.

Keywords: Carbon emission; Carbon sequestration; Household livelihood; Life-cycle approach; Livelihood transition; Rural areas.