Comparative study of greenhouse gas emission calculations and the environmental impact in the life cycle assessment of buildings in China, Finland, and the United States

The building sector is considered a leading contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the implementation of China's 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon-neutral strategy, significant quantitative research regarding low-carbon buildings is crucial. However, a considerable discrepancy remains between the low-carbon building development in China and other advanced countries; the calculation method of GHG emissions lacks international integration. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) theory, a comparative empirical analysis was conducted among residential and public building sets in China, Finland, and the United States considering the life-cycle GHG emissions, which demonstrated notable differences in the Product stage (A1-A3), Maintenance and material replacement stage (B1-B5), and Energy use stage (B6) between each building set. Different building retrofit scenarios were then established to study the emission reduction methods. The results suggest that clean energy sources, materials with low global warming potential, engineered wood structures, and steel structural beams in long-span buildings are conducive to reducing GHG emissions throughout the life-cycle of buildings.

Automated summary

The building sector is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. It is important to conduct extensive research on low-carbon buildings with the implementation of China's carbon peak and carbon-neutral strategies. This study compared residential and public buildings in China, Finland, and the United States using life cycle assessment, and identified significant differences in greenhouse gas emissions during various stages of the building life cycle. The results suggest that utilizing clean energy sources, materials with low global warming potential, and specific building structures can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life cycle.