Will the urbanization process influence the peak of carbon emissions in the building sector? A dynamic scenario simulation

This working paper is an evidence submitted to the Royal Institution for British Architects that makes the case that the built environment must drastically reduce its carbon emissions to work towards net zero. Here we advocate for climate repair through the built environment by decarbonising UK’s building sector through both improved energy efficiency of buildings and the use of nature‐based solutions, such as engineered timber and natural insulating materials. The UK has the opportunity to lead by example at the upcoming United Nations COP‐26 conference and beyond, as we implement the solutions in the coming years.

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Consumption-Based CO2 Emissions Accounting And Scenario Simulation In Asia And Pacific Region

10.21203/rs.3.rs-687049/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Mazibar Rahman ◽

Nishat Anan ◽

Abu Hashan Md Mas ◽

Mahmudul Hasan ◽

Ming-Lang Tseng

Keyword(s):

Government Expenditure ◽

Scenario Simulation ◽

Carbon Mitigation ◽

Total Consumption ◽

Monte Carlo Simulation Technique ◽

Final Consumption ◽

Household Sector ◽

Dynamic Scenario ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Government

Abstract This study uses a consumer-based accounting approach to evaluate CO2 emission factors of 17 major Asia and Pacific countries that distribute all emissions in the supply chain to the commodity up to the final consumption location due to the influence of a country's consumption patterns. In addition, the number of emissions connected with each country's consumption of products and services, mainly in Asia and the Pacific countries, has received little attention. This study contributes to understand the effects of the country's consumption of products and services on carbon emission peaks and formulate efficient carbon-mitigation plans for governments and decision-makers. The accelerating economic growth and industrialization have posed significant challenges to global carbon-mitigation efforts and climate change response; as a result, each country has been provided a higher emphasis on CO2 emission. The Monte Carlo simulation technique has been used to create a dynamic scenario simulation model to investigate possible future peaks of Asia and Pacific countries' carbon emissions, considering the uncertainties of factors. The result shows that total consumption-based CO2 emissions are remarkable in the three Asian countries, including China (387451.95 metric tons (Mt) CO2), Japan (185259.60 Mt CO2), and India (100720.46 Mt CO2). In South Korea, Brunei, and Taiwan, annual consumption emissions are 1.77, 1.62, and 1.49 tons of CO2 per person. In terms of final consumption, the household sector is the supreme noteworthy donor to consumption-based emissions, accounting for 27–56%. The household sector probably peak at 19.7 Gt CO2 as per the dynamic scenario simulation. As for three other types of final demand, the government expenditure will possibly reach at highest 44.0 Gt CO2 by the next 30 years while the capital formation will probably hit its highest emissions at 149.5 Gt CO2.

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How to Set the Proper CO2 Reduction Targets for the Provincial Building Sector of China?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su122410432 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (24) ◽

pp. 10432

Author(s):

Qingwei Shi ◽

Hong Ren ◽

Weiguang Cai ◽

Jingxin Gao

Keyword(s):

Energy Saving ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Emission Reduction ◽

Carbon Emission ◽

National Level ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Energy Structure ◽

Building Sector ◽

Emission Abatement

The improvement of the energy and carbon emission efficiency of activities in the building sector is the key to China’s realization of the Paris Agreement. We can explore effective emission abatement approaches for the building sector by evaluating the carbon emissions and energy efficiency of construction activities, measuring the emission abatement potential of construction activities across the country and regions, and measuring the marginal abatement cost (MAC) of China and various regions. This study calculates the energy and carbon emissions performance of the building sector of 30 provinces and regions in China from 2005 to 2015, measures the dynamic changes in the energy-saving potential and carbon emission performance of the building sector, conducts relevant verification, and estimates the MAC of the building sector by using the slacks-based measure-directional distance function. The level of energy consumption per unit of the building sector of China has been decreasing yearly, but the energy structure has changed minimally (considering that clean energy is used). The total factor technical efficiency of the building sector of various provinces, cities, and regions is generally low, as verified in the evaluation of the energy-saving and emission abatement potential of the building sector of China. The energy saving and emission abatement of the building sector of China have great potential—that is, in approximately 50% of the total emissions of the building sector of China. In particular, Northeast and North China account for more than 50% of the total energy-saving and emission abatement potential. The study of the CO2 emissions and MAC of the building sector indicates that the larger the CO2 emissions are, the smaller MAC will be. The emission abatement efficiency is proportional to MAC. Based on this research, it can be more equitable and effective in formulating provincial emission reduction policy targets at the national level, and can maximize the contribution of the building sector of various provinces to the national carbon emission reduction.

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Comment on “An extended STIRPAT model-based methodology for evaluating the driving forces affecting carbon emissions in existing public building sector: evidence from China in 2000–2015” by Ma et al. (2017)

Natural Hazards ◽

10.1007/s11069-019-03750-w ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 99 (1) ◽

pp. 609-610

Author(s):

Catalina García García ◽

Román Salmerón Gómez ◽

José García García

Keyword(s):

Carbon Emissions ◽

Driving Forces ◽

Building Sector ◽

Stirpat Model ◽

Public Building ◽

Model Based

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Measuring carbon emission from energy consumption in a Hong Kong family

Facilities ◽

10.1108/f-12-2011-0099 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 32 (7/8) ◽

pp. 324-341 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jing Li ◽

Yat Hung Chiang ◽

Lu Zhou ◽

Tracy N.Y. Choi

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Carbon Emissions ◽

Carbon Emission ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Residential Building ◽

Building Sector ◽

Content Type ◽

Residential Units ◽

End Use

Purpose – This study aims to develop a prototype for measuring the carbon emissions arising from the utilization of electrical appliances in a typical Hong Kong family in Kowloon District. Design/methodology/approach – To estimate carbon emission coefficients of energy consumption, the US building energy database books are referred to, which include home appliances’ energy end-use expenditure splits and energy end-use carbon splits. Due to differences in climate, geography and culture, the estimation equations are refined with assumptions and constraints based on the context of Hong Kong. Findings – By calculating the amount of carbon emissions from different electrical appliances, including space cooling, water heating, lighting, refrigeration, wet cleaning and cooking, it is estimated that the carbon emissions from major home electrical appliances in Hong Kong’s residential building sector is 1,805,397 metric tons. According to the findings of this study, by adopting the energy-saving guidelines for space coolers, refrigerators, water heaters and washing machines, carbon emissions in Hong Kong’s residential building sector can be reduced by 155,443 metric tons, or by 8.6 per cent of the current emission. Research limitations/implications – Due to limited resources, the case study does not cover residential units in other districts of Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. In addition, relevant institutional and financing costs of implementing the proposed practices such as increasing the air-conditioning temperature and upgrading the lighting system should be further considered. Future research will be extended to the wider territory of Hong Kong and to obtain more cases for analysis. Originality/value – This paper provides a microscopic perspective on investigating the carbon emissions associated with energy consumption from major home electrical appliances in Hong Kong’s residential buildings. By unveiling the interaction between energy consumption and carbon emission, we formulate measures and strategies for implementing a cost reduction and carbon saving scheme of Hong Kong’s residential buildings, which is in line with government’s guidelines on green buildings.

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