China has established the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 as a national policy. Avoiding the repetition of developed countries’ mistakes in carbon emission reduction, which were preceded by high energy consumption before their carbon peak, has become a critical issue. Given that construction- related carbon emissions account for one-third of total societal carbon emissions, the construction sector bears an important responsibility in assisting the country in achieving its carbon neutrality goal. This paper provides an overview of the current status of carbon emissions in China’s construction sector, carbon emission reduction policies, technical pathways, and the development and application of new low-carbon technologies, while forecasting the future direction of technological development. As a developing country, China’s per capita building energy consumption and energy consumption per floor area are significantly lower than those of developed countries. Therefore, unlike developed countries, China’s strategy for achieving low-carbon or zero-carbon goals in the construction sector requires a novel indoor environmental approach to fulfill the demands for health, comfort, and carbon reduction. Reforms must be implemented on both the supply side and consumption side of building energy. This paper outlines the technical pathways for carbon emission reduction in the Chinese building sector, encompassing the full electrification of buildings, the efficient utilization of renewable and natural energy sources, and the recovery of waste and residual heat. Additionally, several distinctive low-carbon building technologies are introduced. With regard to future development, this paper highlights that delivering personalized and precise indoor environmental services, along with employing information technology for intelligent identification and control of indoor thermal demands, will constitute key components of next- generation indoor environmental control technologies. Therefore, the strategy and technology for indoor environmental control will undergo significant transfor- mations. Achieving breakthroughs in certain key core technologies necessitates advancements in multiple domains. The paper highlights that these objectives will be attained through interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration of modern digital technologies.
Keywords. Building Sector; 'Dual Carbon' goals; Building energy consumption
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How to cite this article
Zhu, Y. (2025). 'Carbon Neutrality Strategy and Advancements in China's Building Sector'. Global Decarbonisation, 1, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.17184/eac.9639
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