Analysis of influencing factors of energy consumption in Beijing: based on the IPAT model

Beijing is a typical energy-imported city, and the study of energy consumption factors in Beijing is important for the sustainable development of Beijing. There are many influencing factors of energy consumption in Beijing, and the influence degree of each factor differs in different development periods. By constructing the IPAT model of energy consumption change in Beijing, this paper breaks down the factors that cause the change in energy consumption in Beijing into population, affluence, and technological progress. The results show that Beijing is a highly energy-consuming city and the change in energy consumption in Beijing is the superposition of multiple effects. The energy consumption change caused by population growth in Beijing continues to increase through data from 2006 to 2020, but begins to show a downward trend, with a maximum change in energy consumption of 19.8 million tons of standard coal. The largest change in energy consumption is caused by per capita GDP growth, which reached 50.3 million tons of standard coal in 2018–2019, and the effect caused by affluence is greater than the impact of population changes. Technological advances always reduce energy consumption and are increasingly effective. To reduce energy consumption and improve environmental quality, the following two things need to be done: first, to continuously control the population of Beijing, and second, to enhance the development and introduction of innovative technologies for energy conservation.