Demographic Shifts and Carbon Emissions: The Age-Driven Environmental Impact and Policy Implications

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-827-1_9How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Population Aging; Carbon Emissions; Demographic Transitions

Abstract

The growing concern over environmental degradation, particularly carbon emissions (CO₂), has sparked interest in understanding the demographic factors contributing to this issue. This study examines the relationship between population aging and CO₂ emissions, as the country is expected to become an aging society by 2030. Most of the prior research has primarily focused on economic and industrial aspects, which has left age demographic factors underexplored. To address this gap, this study discusses how the aging population influences CO₂ emissions specifically via lifestyle patterns and age-specific energy consumption, drawing on existing literature. This study also employs a comprehensive literature review on the nexus between population aging and CO₂ emissions. Findings uncover that the elderly significantly impact the demand for energy in the healthcare, housing, and transportation sectors. However, some studies found that the older population exerts minimal environmental pressure. Additionally, this study contributes to theory by extending the existing literature on demographic change and environmental economics, emphasizing the environmental implications of aging societies. Practically, this study highlights the need for targeted policy interventions on energy-efficient infrastructure, renewable energy adoption, and awareness programs tailored to the aging population.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Nabila Ahmad
AU  - Hafizah Hammad Ahmad Khan
AU  - Noor Zahirah Mohd Sidek
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/08/22
TI  - Demographic Shifts and Carbon Emissions: The Age-Driven Environmental Impact and Policy Implications
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Business, Finance, Management and Economic (BizFAME 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 110
EP  - 119
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-827-1_9
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-827-1_9
ID  - Ahmad2025
ER  -