Greenhouse Gases and Human Well-Being

This research paper examines the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and human well-being, using China as a primary case study. It analyzes how income per capita, energy production mixes, and geography correlate with CO2 emissions across 174 countries and 30 Chinese provinces, arguing that current high-consumption lifestyles in rich countries are incompatible with low-emission stabilization targets.

• There is a strong correlation between income and emissions, with PPP-adjusted GDP per capita alone explaining 65 percent of the variability in emissions per capita across the studied countries.
• China exhibits a very high emissions intensity—defined as the ratio of per capita emissions to per capita income—ranking as the 8th highest globally at 0.9 tons per $1,000 income per capita. It is one of the few countries in the top decile of emissions intensity that is neither an ex-Soviet transition economy nor highly dependent on oil production.
• The data does not support the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for carbon emissions; instead, the relationship is exponential, meaning emissions increase at a slightly increasing rate as income per capita grows.
• Within China, emissions intensity is significantly higher than the international average, with a regression showing that every $1,000 increase in income per capita corresponds to a 0.5 ton increase in emissions, compared to 0.38 tons internationally. Additionally, per capita coal reserves are a significant determinant of emissions among Chinese provinces.
• To achieve a stabilization concentration of 450ppm or lower, global per capita emissions must drop below 1 ton by 2100. However, no high-income country currently has emissions lower than 5 tons per capita, suggesting that Western-style high-consumption lifestyles are currently incompatible with these targets.

APA

Stanton, E. A. (2009). Greenhouse Gases and Human Well-Being. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/greenhouse-gases-human-wellbeing.pdf

Chicago

Stanton, Elizabeth A. Greenhouse Gases and Human Well-Being. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2009. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/greenhouse-gases-human-wellbeing.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stanton |first1=Elizabeth A. |title=Greenhouse Gases and Human Well-Being |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=31 March 2009 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/greenhouse-gases-human-wellbeing.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stanton2009greenhouse, author = {Stanton, Elizabeth A.}, title = {{Greenhouse Gases and Human Well-Being}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2009}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/greenhouse-gases-human-wellbeing.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }