An Evaluation of Carbon Emission Changes in the Japanese Housing Sector from 1980-1995

Abstract

Urban development has made life convenient and comfortable. Travel has become faster, communication has become easier. However, there are externalities that we need to face due to urban development; the ratifi cation of the Kyoto Protocol and its recent enforcement has led signatory countries to limit and propose ways on how to achieve the reduction in emissions by 2012. One aspect of proposed reduction is to make urban development sustainable. Urban development is related to infrastructure systems that generations build for the improvement of the quality of life. Construction of residential and non-residential buildings in cities is part of the infrastructure systems that we need to assess to be able to achieve the 6% reduction limit of carbon emissions. This paper studies the changes of carbon emissions induced by residential construction. To be able to assess the future requirements of society in terms of infrastructure facilities and its sustainability, a study on the historical changes of carbon emissions and the relationship of material requirements to emissions are necessary. The Input-Output Approach coupled with Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) is used to analyze the impacts of Japanese residential construction on the environment. The changes in construction technology, emission structure and material manufacturing technology are studied in this paper. It can be shown that these changes contribute to the fl uctuations in the carbon emissions from residential construction during the 15-year study period.

On-Site Measurements of CO2 Emissions during the Construction Phase of a Building Complex

“…The construction process is therefore a very significant factor environmentally [5]. In addition, the CO 2 emission factor is very important in the construction industry [6], and the amount of energy and number of materials consumed during the construction process is considerable [7]. During the life cycle of a building, a large amount of CO 2 is also generated in the operation process.…”

“…In the study of the material production phase, the Korea Life Cycle Inventory Database (LCI DB) was used to determine CO 2 emissions for each task, and the actual amount of oil consumption for (1) Civil engineering works: soil cement wall (SCW) work, pre-stressed high-strength concrete (PHC) pile work, earthwork, appurtenant work; (2) Reinforced concrete works: rebar, formwork, concrete construction, lifting, and temporary work; (3) Steel-frame works: steel structure erection, deck plate; (4) Metal and window work; (5) Glass work; (6) Interior finishing works: masonry/plaster work, waterproof work, painting/insulation work; (7) Exterior finishing work; (8) Ground heat construction: closed/open loop.…”

Structural Decomposition Analysis of Japan’s Energy Transitions and Related CO2 Emissions in 2005–2015 Using a Hybrid Input-Output Table

“…( 1)), the structural effect (a change in L ), and the final-demand effect (a change in f ). Yabe (2004) decomposed changes in CO 2 emissions in Japan between 1985 and 1995 and found that both the carbon-intensity and structural effects contributed to an emission reduction during the late 1980 s but not during the recession in the early 1990 s. Gerilla et al (2005) similarly decomposed a change in carbon emissions in the Japanese housing sector during 1980-1995 and revealed the contributions from each effect. Okamoto (2013) further segregated each effect into four segments of the economy and concluded that contributions of the transitions to a service economy were not negligible during 1990-2005.…”