CollectHomepage AdvertisementContact usMessage

Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (5): 1026-1038.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.431

• Urban Geography • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Carbon emission differences and driving factors of food consumption among urban and rural residents in the western region of China

FU Wei1(), WANG Yucheng1, CUI Longfang1, CHEN Jiancheng2   

  1. 1 College of Economics and Management, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, Yunnan, China
    2 College of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2025-07-26 Revised:2025-10-26 Online:2026-05-25 Published:2026-05-25

Abstract:

Food consumption is an important part of greenhouse gas emissions. Studying its urban-rural differences in carbon emissions and driving factors is critical to promoting regional coordinated green development to achieve the “dual carbon” goals. Food consumption carbon emissions among urban and rural residents in the western region of China from 2014 to 2023 were calculated using the hybrid life cycle assessment method. The regional differences and driving factors were revealed by combining the Theil index, K-means clustering, and the geographical detector model. The results revealed that (1) From 2014 to 2023, the total per capita food consumption carbon emissions in the western region exhibited an increasing trend, rising from 1.51×104 kg·person-1 to 2.05×104 kg·person-1. Compared with that of urban areas, the per capita food consumption carbon emissions in rural areas of Qinghai Province increased most significantly, with an average annual growth rate of 6.1%. (2) The regional differences mainly stem from intraprovincial disparities, with “asynchronous consumption within provinces” becoming the focal point of spatial differentiation. Most regions are in a transitional period of food consumption structure, while the food consumption carbon emissions in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Chongqing Municipality are mainly influenced by the local industrial structure. (3) The interaction of multiple factors is mainly characterized by the enhancement of two-factor interactions, and the urban-rural heterogeneity is prominent. In urban areas, it is driven by the synergy of population size and consumption level, whereas in rural areas, it is dominated by the interaction of transportation facilities and other factors.

Key words: residents’ food consumption, regional differences, driving factors, urban and rural development, western region of China