An Analysis on the Carbon Emission Contributors in the Chinese Construction Industry

Abstract

With the rapid development of Chinese economy and increasing improved living standards, the amount of carbon emissions in China has been increasing consistently in a high speed, which consists of the largest percentage of the world’s total carbon emissions in recent years. The construction industry, playing an important role in the Chinese economy, accounts for a large proportion of the total carbon emissions in China. In this paper, the carbon emissions from construction industry in China in 2009 are analyzed by adopting Multi Regional Input-output (MRIO) Model and the World Input-Output Database (WIOD). Results show that, according to the data in 2009, the construction industry is the largest carbon emitter among all industries in China, responsible for the emissions of 2,121,649.31 kt CO2, accounting for 66.54 % of Chinese total carbon emissions. This emission value is contributed by other economic sectors and activities, and it has been found that the industrial sector “Electricity, Gas and Water Supply” is the largest contributor to the carbon emissions of Chinese construction industry, with an amount of 984,830.85 kt CO2, accounting for 46.42 % of the total carbon emissions of Chinese construction industry. Furthermore the carbon emissions in the construction industry comprise 71,418.19 kt CO2 (3.37 %) of direct carbon emissions and 2,050,231.12 kt CO2 (96.63 %) of indirect carbon emissions. The carbon emissions of domestic goods, exports and imports within construction industry are 2,129,974.07, 8663.33 and 338.58 kt CO2, respectively, consisting of 100.39, 0.41 and 0.02 % of the total carbon emissions of Chinese construction industry. The results can help identify critical areas where policymakers can formulate effective policy measures for carbon emissions reduction in Chinese construction industry.