Building Back Better: Lessons Learned from Sichuan Earthquake on Decarbonizing China’s Construction Industry through Microalloying

Abstract

The construction industry bears a massive carbon footprint that is largely derived from the carbon-intensive nature of key structural materials. Microalloying of structural steel represents an underappreciated strategy for enabling greater economy of materials use and thus reducing carbon emissions. Policy implemented after the Sichuan Earthquake has mandated an increased use of vanadium steel, giving rise to an unintended (but welcome) benefit of substantial decarbonization of a major sector.