Impacts of highway construction and operation on carbon footprint in China: A case study of Jiangsu Province

Abstract

Transportation sector has been one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas in China and the world. Highway has been one of the vital means of transport in China, which is significantly beneficial to promote economic development, energy saving, and carbon mitigation. This study investigates the ecological value of highway at regional scale by developing carbon footprint evaluation system of highway, based on expert knowledge and by focusing on the Jiangsu Province of China. Different parts of carbon footprint (CF) are estimated by five indicators, including carbon footprint of construction, carbon footprint of management, carbon footprint of driving, carbon footprint of traffic condition change, and carbon footprint of land use and cover change. The characteristics of and spatial and temporal change in the total carbon footprint for nine trunk highways in Jiangsu Province from 2000 to 2050 were analyzed, and the key factors impacting the recovery period of carbon (RC) of the highways were identified. The results show that an overall condition of CF of highways in Jiangsu Province is helpful to reduce CO2 emissions and recover their carbon emissions in 2031. G25 has the highest value in ecology, whereas G15 has the lowest at the individual level. This study also demonstrates that traffic demand is the fundamental determinant of RC and there is synchronization between RC and recovery period of investment (RI). These findings are helpful for policy makers in mitigating carbon emissions in planning and construction of highway. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 35: 1468–1475, 2016