Income inequality and energy poverty are critical obstacles to the worldwide low-carbon transformation and deeply affect human behavior. Applying a dynamic panel data model, this study investigates the effect of income inequality and energy poverty on global carbon emissions. We determine the effect of the interaction between income inequality and energy poverty on the global low-carbon transformation based on a panel data set of 193 countries from 1990 to 2019. A one standard deviation decrease in the Gini coefficient causes a 2.98 % decrease in carbon emissions per capita, with the median value of energy poverty. However, in poor countries where the proportion of population with access to electricity is less than 86.0 %, reducing income inequality will increase carbon emissions. The role of energy poverty on carbon emissions per capita is also affected by income inequality. When the Gini coefficient is lower than 0.461, increasing access to electricity will reduce carbon emissions. In contrast, when the Gini coefficient is higher than the critical value of 0.461, increased access to electricity will raise carbon emissions. These findings indicate a new strategy for advancing low-carbon transformation based on the interrelationship between income equality and energy poverty eradication.

中文翻译：

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收入不平等和能源贫困对全球碳排放的相互作用：一种动态面板数据方法


收入不平等和能源贫困是全球低碳转型的关键障碍，并深深影响着人类行为。本研究应用动态面板数据模型，调查了收入不平等和能源贫困对全球碳排放的影响。我们根据 1990 年至 2019 年 193 个国家的面板数据集确定了收入不平等和能源贫困之间相互作用对全球低碳转型的影响。基尼系数每降低一个标准差，人均碳排放量就会减少 2.98%，能源贫困的中位数。然而，在用电人口比例低于 86.0% 的贫穷国家，减少收入不平等会增加碳排放。能源贫困对人均碳排放量的影响也受到收入不平等的影响。当基尼系数低于 0.461 时，增加电力供应将减少碳排放。相反，当基尼系数高于临界值 0.461 时，电力供应的增加将增加碳排放。这些发现表明了一种基于收入平等和消除能源贫困之间相互关系的推进低碳转型的新战略。