Driving factors of total carbon emissions from the construction industry in Jiangsu Province, China

Global warming caused by greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions has become a paramount problem for all countries to solve. The construction industry emits 36 percent of the GHG in all sectors globally. China is the largest carbon emitter in the world, and Jiangsu province has been used as a test bed for reforming and developing modern construction industry in China. The aim of the study is to explore the driving factors of the total carbon emissions from the construction industry (CECI) in the provincial region using a hybrid Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model. The findings of the study indicate that: 1) Indirect and operational CECI account for the largest proportion (52.22% and 46.02% in 2016 respectively); 2) The driving factors of CECI in Jiangsu province are the area factor (contribution from 2005 to 2016 is 100.22%) and the output value intensity factor (86.56%) while the restraining factor is the carbon emission intensity (−80.35%). Discussion and implicated policies, such as improving the energy efficiency of related industries and using green building materials have been elaborated at the end of the study. The decomposition and calculation method presented in this paper provides a useful tool for policymakers to evaluate CECI of a province or state and formulate appropriate carbon policies to reduce emissions and promote low-carbon development in a region.