Moving Low-Carbon Construction Industry in Jiangsu Province: Evidence from Decomposition and Decoupling Models

Rongrong Li,Rui Jiang

doi:10.3390/su9061013

Abstract

The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by the global construction industry account for 36% of the world’s total carbon emissions, and 50% of China’s total carbon emissions. The carbon emissions from Jiangsu Province’s construction industry account for approximately 16% of the total emissions of the Chinese construction industry. Taking the construction industry in Jiangsu Province as our study object, therefore, this paper introduces the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) carbon emission accounting method as a means to measure the total CO2 emissions of the Jiangsu Province construction industry. Specifically, we examine the period from 2005 to 2013. Based on the Tapio decoupling model, we analyze the decoupling state between the CO2 emissions of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province and the province’s economic growth. Our paper also employs the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) approach, in order to conduct a decomposition analysis of those factors that influenced the changes in the level of CO2 emissions during the studied period. According to the results of our research, during the period from 2005 to 2013, the CO2 emission levels caused by the construction industry in Jiangsu Province experienced a significant increase. The cumulative total CO2 emissions reached 402.85 million tons. During most of the years covered by our study, an expansive negative decoupling state existed between the level of CO2 emissions and the output value of Jiangsu’s construction industry. These periods were interspersed with either a weak decoupling state in some years or a strong decoupling state in other years. The indirect carbon emission intensity effect and the industry scale effect were the main factors influencing the increases in the construction industry’s CO2 emissions. At the conclusion of our paper, we put forward policy suggestions, with the objective of promoting the de-carbonization of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province.

Highlights

In recent years, many countries have taken the step of developing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories, in order to reduce the threat from global warming [1,2,3]
The data pertaining to the energy consumption of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province were collected from the China Energy Statistical Yearbook (2005–2013) [45,46,47]
By compiling data from the Statistical Yearbook of Jiangsu (2005–2013), the China Energy Statistical Yearbook (2005–2013) and the China Statistical Yearbook on Construction (2005–2013), we were able to obtain the data pertaining to the total output value of the construction industry in Jiangsu Province

Summary

Introduction

Many countries have taken the step of developing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories, in order to reduce the threat from global warming [1,2,3]. In China, the CO2 emissions caused by the construction industry account for 30% of the country’s total CO2 emissions [4,5]. Reducing the levels of energy consumption and the CO2 emissions of the Chinese construction industry is of vital importance if the energy conservation and emission reduction goals of the entire Chinese society (and even the entire world) are to be achieved. Jiangsu Province’s mean carbon emissions during the 2004 to 2011 period accounted for 16.11% of the total carbon emissions of the entire country. Quantifying the CO2 emissions of Jiangsu Province’s construction industry, and decomposing the factors that influence those CO2 emissions, is of vital theoretical and practical significance if China’s CO2 emission reduction goals are to be realized

Methods

Results

Conclusion