Environmental Changes Produced by Household Consumption

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of the fall in household consumption after an economic crisis in Spain on greenhouse gas emissions. To this end, household consumption is differentiated by the age of the main provider by using a conversion matrix that relates consumption groups to activity sectors. A multisectoral model was used to quantify and compare the environmental impact caused by the consumption of each age group, indicating that the older the age of the main household provider, the smaller the reduction in GHG emissions associated with their consumption. The results facilitate an analysis of how the greenhouse gas emissions of the different sectors of the Spanish economy, associated with the population under study, varied before and after the 2008 crisis, and confirm that the sectors with the greatest reduction in emissions were, in this order, extractive industries, construction, manufacturing industry, wholesale and retail trade and transport and storage. This is relevant for decision making in the field of environmental policies in crises, akin to the one the world is currently experiencing.