Towards sustainable building landscapes: a spatially explicit life-cycle analysis of carbon emissions and mitigation strategies

Context

The urban landscape plays a crucial role in achieving sustainability goals and aspiring to a zero-emission future. Effective carbon mitigation strategies need a spatially explicit and life-cycle analysis of building emissions, detailed mapping highlights the geographical distribution and specific characteristics of buildings, enabling precise identification and targeted management of emission sources.

Objectives

This study aims to create a framework that reveals the spatial and temporal dimensions of building carbon emissions at each stage of their life cycle.

Methods

We developed a comprehensive approach for carbon accounting in buildings. This framework captures spatiotemporal carbon emission patterns across various building types, considering material, energy, and waste flows. It also identifies potential mitigation strategies within the urban building landscape.

Results

Applying this framework to a case study in Shenzhen, we observed a fluctuating increase in total carbon emissions, peaking at 201.5 Mt in 2016 and subsequently declining. Embodied emissions dominated before the twenty-first century, while operational emissions became significant afterward. Spatially, emissions hotspots concentrated in central urban districts, expanding outward, with residential buildings contributing the most. Scenario analysis revealed that extending building lifetimes is a key strategy for mitigating embodied carbon, while improving energy efficiency and adopting clean energy work well together to reduce operational carbon.

Conclusions

Mapping the spatiotemporal patterns of carbon emissions throughout a building’s lifespan can assist urban planners and policymakers in formulating targeted strategies for carbon reduction, thereby enhancing urban sustainability.