Analysis of the air pollution associated with household consumption in Belgium in 2014: the case of greenhouse gas emissions

This report examines which socioeconomic household characteristics determine greenhouse gas emissions in Belgium. The analysis is based on a new version of the PEACH2AIR database, which links the air pollution data with consumption expenditure of Belgian households as recorded in the 2014 Household Budget Survey. We find that food, transport fuel and household energy consumption account for more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions, while they represent less than 30% of total expenditure. Total greenhouse gas emissions per household increase with income, but pollution intensity (grams of pollution per euro spent) decreases as income increases. After checking for the effect of other variables, it appears that the age, the level of education of the head of the household and the size of the dwelling lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions at the household level, while being unemployed, living in an apartment or renting a dwelling lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Jel Classification C67, C81, D12, Q53, Q56