Beijing Household Energy Transitions

Traditional rural household energy use practices in China involve burning large quantities of solid fuel, especially for space heating in northern China, and contribute to high levels of air pollution. The primary goal of this project is to assess the outcomes from an innovative household-level energy transition project in Beijing, China. This program bans coal use in the greater-Beijing area, and offers a subsidy for transitioning to a new clean technology. Importantly, these policies are being implemented in waves, and offers a unique opportunity to evaluate a natural experiment with rigorous impact evaluation techniques. Leveraging long-term partnerships between McGill, the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and Peking University, we are conducting measurements in 50 villages with over 1000 households to answer the following questions:

1. How do the coal ban and heat pump subsidy impact household energy choices?
2. How do the coal ban and heat pump subsidy impact household energy emmissions?
3. How do the coal ban and heat pump subsidy impact household welfare?