Slow and unequal reduction in Austrian household GHG footprints between 2000 and 2020

Abstract

Understanding the trends and distribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions embodied in household consumption is pivotal to developing climate-change mitigation strategies that are just and effective. While household GHG footprints inequality is increasingly investigated, less is known about its temporal dynamics across product groups. For the case of Austria, we (1) develop a database for household GHG footprints from 2000 to 2020 by combining multi-regional input–output modeling with household budget surveys, (2) investigate temporal trends across consumption categories and income groups, and (3) explore socio-economic explanatory variables. We find that the sum of Austrian household GHG footprints declined from 73 Mt CO2eq in 2000 to 67 Mt CO2eq in 2020. In 2005, when Austrian GHG emissions peaked, the highest income decile induced 3.5 times more GHG emissions than the lowest income decile. This factor remained similarly high at 3.4 until 2020, particularly due to trends in the consumption categories mobility and goods. The most notable GHG reduction was achieved in housing/heating, where carbon inequality was less pronounced. Beyond income, floor space, car ownership, the heating system, household size, and the number of vacations significantly affect GHG footprints. Our findings suggest that reducing stubbornly high carbon inequality, particularly in the consumption of mobility and goods, can contribute to more effective climate-change mitigation.