China Has A Plan to Reduce Household Air Pollution. But Who Benefits?

Kentaro IEMOTO Beijing Air Pollution... Sanlitun , Beijing, China Via Flickr CC License

China is the world's largest consumer of coal, though in recent years the government has sought to reduce the country's reliance on coal for energy. This includes transitioning away from coal for home heating. Dirty burning coal from home heating units is a major pollutant, particularly in northern China that both causes significant harm to individual health and also contributes to climate change.

In 2014, the government launched what is known as the household heating energy transition program. This program sought to replace household coal heating units with electricity, natural gas, or cleaner burning coal. Like many Chinese infrastructure projects it was a massive undertaking. It was also directed by the government, top down, and mandatory for homes that used dirty burning coal. 

My guest today, Lunyu Xie is Associate Professor at the School of Applied Economics , Renmin University of China. She con…