The paradox of environmental awareness improvement and carbon footprint: a Maslow's Need-hierarchy perspective analysis in rural China
文献类型：期刊论文
| 作者 | Sun, Mingxing1,3; Ma, Shaoyue1,2,3 |
| 刊名 | JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
 |
| 出版日期 | 2026 |
| 卷号 | 538页码:147304 |
| 关键词 | Maslow's need-hierarchy theory Environmental awareness Carbon footprint Rural China Sustainable consumption |
| ISSN号 | 0959-6526 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.147304 |
| 产权排序 | 1 |
| 文献子类 | Article |
| 英文摘要 | High environmental awareness is deemed as the prerequisite of green consumption behavior; however, the improvement of the environmental awareness might need more consumption, which means that the emergence of environmental awareness may come at the cost of the environment. To verify this paradox, this study examines the relationship between environmental awareness and household carbon footprint in rural China through the lens of Maslow's Need-hierarchy theory. Leveraging micro-survey data from 3002 rural households across five provinces in 2019 and 2023, we employ an Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output model to calculate the carbon footprint associated with various consumption categories-clothing, food, housing, and transportation-and stratify the consumables consumption and related carbon footprint into physiological, safety, social, and developmental needs according to adjusted Maslow's Need-hierarchy theory. Results reveal a 6.6 % increase in per capita carbon footprint from 2018 to 2022 (2081.18 to 2218.34 kg CO2e), driven predominantly by housing and food consumption. Regression analyses demonstrate a significant positive association between environmental awareness and consumables carbon footprint: a one-unit increase in awareness elevates total consumables-related emissions by 22.86 kg CO2e, with layer-specific increases of 6.26 kg CO2e (safety), 7.73 kg CO2e (social), and 4.62 kg CO2e (developmental needs), respectively. These findings challenge assumptions that environmental awareness inherently reduces emissions, emphasizing the necessity of structural interventions to align awareness with low-carbon transitions. Only when certain quality lifestyle achieved can environmental awareness reach the inflection point where it drives meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. The study advances theoretical discourse by integrating Maslow's hierarchy theory into environmental behavior analysis, offering policymakers evidence-based strategies to reconcile environmental awareness improvement with climate goals. |
| URL标识 | 查看原文 |
| WOS关键词 | KNOWLEDGE |
| WOS研究方向 | Science & Technology - Other Topics ; Engineering ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
| 语种 | 英语 |
| WOS记录号 | WOS:001641023700001 |
| 出版者 | ELSEVIER SCI LTD |
| 源URL | [http://ir.igsnrr.ac.cn/handle/311030/219444]  |
| 专题 | 生态系统网络观测与模拟院重点实验室_外文论文 |
| 通讯作者 | Sun, Mingxing; Ma, Shaoyue |
| 作者单位 | 1.UN Environm Programme Int Ecosyst Management Partn, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China; 2.Univ Chinese Acad Sci, Beijing 100049, Peoples R China 3.Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geog Sci & Nat Resources Res, Key Lab Ecosyst Network Observat & Modeling, Beijing 100101, Peoples R China; |
| 推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Sun, Mingxing,Ma, Shaoyue. The paradox of environmental awareness improvement and carbon footprint: a Maslow's Need-hierarchy perspective analysis in rural China[J]. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,2026,538:147304. |
| APA | Sun, Mingxing,&Ma, Shaoyue.(2026).The paradox of environmental awareness improvement and carbon footprint: a Maslow's Need-hierarchy perspective analysis in rural China.JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION,538,147304. |
| MLA | Sun, Mingxing,et al."The paradox of environmental awareness improvement and carbon footprint: a Maslow's Need-hierarchy perspective analysis in rural China".JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION 538(2026):147304. |
入库方式： OAI收割
来源：地理科学与资源研究所
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