Universal access to energy is one of the most basic humans right emphasized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 7 (SDG7). However, measuring urban-rural energy inequality can be challenging due to the limitations of data based on administrative divisions rather than variations between urban and rural settlements. In this study, we measure the urban-rural energy inequality based on our estimates of China’s energy consumption between 2000 and 2020 at 1km resolution. First, we find that per capita energy consumption (PEC) in urban areas is still significantly higher than that in rural areas, and urban center demonstrates the highest PEC. However, energy inequality index (EI) has dropped to 1.45 in 2020, which indicates that China’s urban-rural energy equality is being alleviated. Second, the energy inequality between urban and rural China has evident spatial heterogeneity, with more pronounced energy inequality in the central and western regions. This spatial heterogeneity is mainly caused by the spatial differences of PEC in semi-dense urban cluster, rural cluster, and very low-density rural areas. Third, serious urban-rural energy inequality is mainly seen in areas with low economic development and low urbanization rate, while its mitigation tends to occur in the others. This indicates that policies promoting urban-rural energy equality are in urgent need for the implement of SDG7 in China, especially in underdeveloped areas.

energy inequality, energy consumption, nighttime light data, China