Impacts on the embodied carbon emissions in China's building sector and its related energy-intensive industries from energy-saving technologies perspective: A dynamic CGE analysis

Research on embodied carbon emission reduction in the building sector from an energy-saving technol-ogy perspective has attracted wide attention. However, because the embodied carbon emissions in the building sector comprise a complex category involving multiple related industries, existing studies have often focused on the environmental impacts on one related industry, while few researchers have explored the impacts of energy-saving technologies on the embodied carbon emissions in the building sector from an industrial relevance perspective. In this study, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model was employed, and different energy-saving technology scenarios were established to assess the economic and environmental impacts on three related energy-intensive industries (the cement, steel and construction industries) and to analyze the impacts on the embodied carbon emissions in the build-ing sector. The results indicated that the considered energy-saving technologies increased the outputs of the three related industries and reduced product prices. The energy-saving technologies reduced the energy and carbon emission intensities. It was also demonstrated that the embodied carbon emission reduction in the building sector mainly depends on the implementation of energy-saving technologies in the steel and cement industries, the construction industry exhibits a high potential for embodied car-bon emission reduction, and the reduction potential largely depends on industry-wide energy-saving technologies. & COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Research on reducing embodied carbon emissions in the building sector through energy-saving technologies has received considerable attention. However, previous studies have focused on the environmental impacts of individual industries, neglecting the holistic perspective of the building sector. This study utilizes a CGE model to assess the economic and environmental impacts on the cement, steel, and construction industries, and analyze the effects on embodied carbon emissions. Results show that energy-saving technologies increase industry outputs, reduce product prices, and decrease energy and carbon emission intensities. Additionally, the potential for reducing embodied carbon emissions in the building sector is reliant on implementing energy-saving technologies across the steel, cement, and construction industries.