Aging alone: a twin threat to decarbonisation and energy vulnerability in Japan and UK

Demographic trends have attracted attention in the energy and climate change literature, where there is widespread concern about the potential for population level effects on both carbon emissions and energy vulnerability. Here, we offer a summary of the existing evidence associated with aging populations and reducing household sizes, and build on this to argue that ‘aging alone’ needs additional consideration. To that end, we present a novel cross-national comparison of the domestic energy effects of aging alone in Japan and the UK, to understand how these might shape broader societal goals of reducing energy vulnerability and decarbonisation. Older single-person households in both nations have lower incomes, but higher domestic energy use, related carbon emissions, and home energy costs per capita. There is a risk that more people aging alone could lead to more energy vulnerability, as well as a threat to decarbonisation targets. We conclude by encouraging scholars and policymakers to explore this issue in more detail in further research, and in designing housing and energy policy for this specific intersection.