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Embodied energy use in the global construction industry

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  • Guo, Shan
  • Zheng, Shupeng
  • Hu, Yunhao
  • Hong, Jingke
  • Wu, Xiaofang
  • Tang, Miaohan

Abstract

Building-related energy problems place considerable challenges in securing environmental sustainability. Accelerating globalization further exacerbate regional inequities hidden behind the global supply chains. Therefore, the energy use of construction industry embodied in interregional trade needs to be revealed considering the regional disparities. China, as the largest developing country, suffers from massive spending on infrastructure construction. Therefore, investigating the interactions between China’s construction industry and the rest of the world is imperative. Previous researches fail to provide a holistic view of energy interactions induced by the global construction industry. This study details the global supply chain of the construction industry by merging 31 Chinese regions into the complex global trading network, which is beneficial for making fair energy reduction strategies. Results show that both embodied energy use and direct energy use exhibit a strong positive linear correlation with GDP. Interregional trade increases the inequality of energy use in the global construction industry, in which 81.67% of the regions possess an energy inequality indicator of the construction industry over 0.80, thus proving that the construction industry consumes a large amount of non-local energy. There is no significant relationship between the embodied intensity and GDP, whereas a weak linear correlation exists between intensity and embodied energy use. In China, Shanxi, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia represent a high intensity. There is a weak positive correlation between urbanization rate and embodied energy values. The findings of this research are critical in understanding the connections between province-level construction activities and the global trading network, which is beneficial for customizing and prioritizing policy recommendations for sustainable development of the global construction industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo, Shan & Zheng, Shupeng & Hu, Yunhao & Hong, Jingke & Wu, Xiaofang & Tang, Miaohan, 2019. "Embodied energy use in the global construction industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:256:y:2019:i:c:s0306261919315259
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113838
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    Cited by:

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    4. Xiaopeng Wang & Xiang Chen & Yiman Cheng & Luyao Zhou & Yi Li & Yongliang Yang, 2020. "Factorial Decomposition of the Energy Footprint of the Shaoxing Textile Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-13, April.
    5. Nicole Anderson & Gayan Wedawatta & Ishara Rathnayake & Niluka Domingo & Zahirah Azizi, 2022. "Embodied Energy Consumption in the Residential Sector: A Case Study of Affordable Housing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Chen, Liming & Zhao, Yuanyuan & Xie, Rui & Su, Bin & Liu, Yue & Renfei, Xv, 2023. "Embodied energy intensity of global high energy consumption industries: A case study of the construction industry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    7. Jinghui Liu & Tingting Geng & Xingwei Wang & Guojin Qin, 2020. "Determinants of Oil Footprints Embodied in Sino-US Trade: A Perspective from the Globalizing World," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-26, July.
    8. Abd Alla, Sara & Bianco, Vincenzo & Tagliafico, Luca A. & Scarpa, Federico, 2020. "Life-cycle approach to the estimation of energy efficiency measures in the buildings sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    9. Shepard, Jun U. & Pratson, Lincoln F., 2020. "Hybrid input-output analysis of embodied energy security," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    10. Lachlan Curmi & Kumudu Kaushalya Weththasinghe & Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, 2022. "Global Policy Review on Embodied Flows: Recommendations for Australian Construction Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, November.
    11. Quan Wen & Zhongfu Li & Yifeng Peng & Baorong Guo, 2020. "Assessing the Effectiveness of Building Information Modeling in Developing Green Buildings from a Lifecycle Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    12. Jingke, Hong & Chenyu, Wang & Chang-Richards, Alice & Jingxiao, Zhang & Qiping, Geoffrey Shen & Bei, Qiao, 2022. "A spatiotemporal analysis of energy use pathways in the construction industry: A study of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PC).
    13. Zhengxin He & Jasmine Siu Lee Lam & Maohan Liang, 2023. "Impact of Disruption on Ship Emissions in Port: Case of Pandemic in Long Beach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, April.
    14. Song, Xiaoxin & Li, Rongrong, 2023. "Tracing and excavating critical paths and sectors for embodied energy consumption in global supply chains: A case study of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    15. Guo, Shan & Li, Yilin & He, Ping & Chen, Haosong & Meng, Jing, 2021. "Embodied energy use of China's megacities: A comparative study of Beijing and Shanghai," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    16. Liu, Bin & Gao, Qun & Jin, Hongyu & Lei, Yu & Liu, Chunlu, 2022. "System indeterminacy analysis in the embodied energy network of global construction industries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PA).

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