Determinants of Household Carbon Emissions: An Empirical Study in Vietnam

Abstract

The objective of this study is to calculate and analyze the factors that determine household carbon emissions in Vietnam. The study uses a multivariate regression analysis model including variables related to household characteristics and characteristics of the household head based on data from the results of the 2020 Vietnamese household living standards survey conducted by the Vietnam General Statistics Office every 2 years. Carbon emissions or carbon footprint are estimated using a combination of emission factors collected from EPA, EXIOBASE, WRAP. Research results have shown that factors that positively impact total household spending will also positively impact the household’s carbon footprint and vice versa. Specifically, factors including income, household size, house area and number of cars have a positive impact on the household’s carbon footprint. Conversely, the age of the household head tends to shrink a household’s carbon footprint. In addition, households living in urban areas have a larger carbon footprint than households living in rural areas; Households living in apartments have a larger carbon footprint than households living in private houses; Male-headed households will generate larger CO2emissions than female-headed households; Finally, households whose head of household has an education level higher than high school level will generate larger emissions than households whose head’s education level is higher than high school level or less. At the same time, the study proposes a number of recommendations and solutions to reduce carbon emissions, contributing to changing the amount of emissions causing the greenhouse effect.