Our results show that both of these factors play a role (Figure 2). The housing sector stands out with a carbon intensity of consumption more than 6 times higher in the bottom decile (`r int_co2eq_housing_bottom_decile` kgCO2eq/€) than in the top decile (`r int_co2eq_housing_top_decile` kgCO2eq/€). Housing has the highest variance in energy and carbon intensity among expenditure deciles, and for the bottom deciles, it is the most energy and carbon intensive category. Overall, with increasing expenditure decile, the shares of mobility and services expenditures increase and the shares of food and goods decrease. The bottom decile spent an average of `r exp_share_housing_bottom_decile`% of their household expenditure on housing, while the top decile spent `r exp_share_housing_top_decile`%. Households in the top decile spent about `r exp_share_services_top_decile`% on services, which has the lowest energy and carbon intensities of all final consumption categories, compared to `r exp_share_services_bottom_decile`% in the bottom decile.
Our results show that both of these factors play a role (Figure 2). The housing sector stands out with a carbon intensity of consumption more than 6 times higher in the bottom decile (`r int_co2eq_housing_bottom_decile` kgCO2eq/€) than in the top decile (`r int_co2eq_housing_top_decile` kgCO2eq/€). Housing has the highest variance in energy and carbon intensity among expenditure deciles, and for the bottom deciles, it is the most energy and carbon intensive category. Overall, with increasing expenditure decile, the shares of mobility and services expenditures increase and the shares of food and goods decrease. Households in the top decile spent about `r exp_share_services_top_decile`% on services, which has the lowest energy and carbon intensities of all final consumption categories, compared to `r exp_share_services_bottom_decile`% in the bottom decile.
The tendency for energy and carbon intensity to decrease with increasing affluence has been reported for the global level between countries [@hubacek_global_2017] [@berthe_mechanisms_2015] [@scruggs_political_1998] [@weber_quantifying_2008] and also within Europe [@sommer_carbon_2017] [@bianco_understanding_2019] [@kerkhof_determinants_2009]. Our results show that the four lowest European expenditure deciles make up over 80% of the population in Eastern European countries, while less than 20% of the population in the higher-income European countries (Scandinavia, Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, and Ireland) are in the lowest European expenditure deciles (see SI, Figure S1).
