The role of China's household sector in emitting black carbon aerosol

China is the largest contributing nation to global emissions of carbonaceous aerosols, and the household (or residential) sector is the largest contributing sector to China's emissions. Thus, household energy use in China is very important for determining regional concentrations of carbonaceous aerosols, changes in net radiative forcing, and the potential for regional modification of precipitation and temperature patterns. In addition, because it is a significant contributor to global emissions, household emissions of carbonaceous aerosols offer the prospect of a contribution to Kyoto-like reductions in greenhouse species. Because of the high exposure levels of fine particles from household fuel combustion, human health effects are also implicated. This paper presents estimates of emissions of black carbon in China during the period 1980-2000, supplemented with projections for the years 2030 and 2050 under four IPCC scenarios. The results presented here are strictly for East Asia (consisting of P.R. China, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan, China), but P.R. China dominates the emission profiles. We do not include here the emissions of organic carbon, though they are under development. Results are based on a recent inventory of global BC emissions for 1996 [Bond et al., 2004], historical trends presently under development for NASA, and future trends of carbonaceous aerosols [Streets et al., 2004].