Research on Accounting and Transfer Pathways of Embodied Carbon Emissions from Construction Industry in China

In recent years, China has taken the issue of excessive CO2 emissions very seriously, and the construction industry is a key sector in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions. This research constructed a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to estimate the carbon emissions from the construction industry, and analyze the spatial and industrial transfer pathways of the carbon emissions from the inter-regional construction industry. The following findings were obtained in this study: (1) Based on the consumption-side accounting, the amount of embodied carbon emissions that were switched to China’s construction industry massively exceeded that of embodied carbon emissions that were transferred from it. (2) A large amount of embodied carbon emissions was transferred from the energy industry, heavy industry, and manufacturing in the resource-rich region to the construction industry in the economically developed coastal region and the southwest region with a defective industrial structure. The above findings provided a theoretical basis for the allocation of construction industry’s carbon emission reduction responsibilities. Accordingly, this paper put forward policy suggestions that could optimize the carbon emission reduction plans in the construction industry