A new study says the explosive growth in China’s construction sector is now driving the country’s steep increase in carbon emissions, reversing a long-term trend in which consumption and exports were the dominant factors. According to the study, published in journal Environmental Science & Technology, increased capital investment in infrastructure projects has fueled an expansion of the energy-intensive construction industry in recent years. Until 2002, the most critical factor driving Chinese CO2 emissions was the growth of consumption and factory production for exports, said Jan C. Minx of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and lead author of the study. From 2002 to 2007, however, researchers found that improved energy efficiency actually offset the rise in emissions from increased consumption. But emissions continued to skyrocket during that period — with the average annual CO2 emissions growth rivaling the UK’s total CO2 emissions— largely because of growth in the construction sector and related energy-intensive products such as steel and concrete.
China’s CO2 Emissions Growth Mainly Driven By Construction, Study Says
More From E360
-
DISPATCH
How Illegal Mining Caused a Humanitarian Crisis in the Amazon
-
ANALYSIS
Microplastics Are Filling the Skies. Will They Affect the Climate?
-
CONSERVATION
Silencing Science: How Indonesia Is Censoring Wildlife Research
-
Energy
In Europe’s Clean Energy Transition, Industry Turns to Heat Pumps
-
INTERVIEW
Amazon Under Fire: The Long Struggle Against Brazil’s Land Barons
-
WATER
After Comeback, Southern Iraq’s Marshes Are Now Drying Up
-
Biodiversity
Sacred Groves: How the Spiritual Connection Helps Protect Nature
-
Energy
For U.S. Companies, the Race for the New EV Battery Is On
-
INTERVIEW
Forest Equity: What Indigenous People Want from Carbon Credits
-
Policy
Which Wetlands to Protect? Supreme Court Will Soon Decide
-
Cities
In Bolivia, Mercury Pollution Spreads Amid a Surge in Gold Mining
-
Biodiversity
The 30 Percent Goal: Is Bigger Always Better for Biodiversity?