Households' participation in energy transition and sustained use of clean energy: Evidence from China's clean heating program

Household energy transition is a critical tool for air pollution mitigation and energy inequality reduction. The effectiveness of the transition largely relies on not only households' decision to participate but also their sustained use of clean energy after participation. However, the sustained use of clean energy has not yet received sufficient attention in policy making and in literature. This study examines China's Household Clean Heating program, which has switched millions of households' heating energy sources from coal to electricity and gas. We focus on both households' adoption and coal substitution behavior in the program. Based on the large-scale household survey conducted in rural areas of Northern China, we find that both high subsidies and compulsory measures effectively increased the household adoption rate; however, the latter did not guarantee sustained use of clean energy. We also find that In-person and repeated dissemination of program information had a better effect on involvement than passive announcements. Moreover, lower-income households were less likely to participate. Our findings suggest effective implementation approaches and supplementary measures to promote household energy transition, with fewer negative consequences for participants, particularly for the participants with lower income.