Water, energy, and carbon dioxide footprints of the construction sector: A case study on developed and developing economies
No Preview Available
Citations
Altmetric:
Altmetric::
Associated Records
Authors
File Licence
Editors
Date
2021-04-15
Source Title
Water Research
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Melbourne Authors
Affiliation
Architecture Building and Planning
Document Type
Journal Article
Subject Code
Citation
Pomponi, F. & Stephan, A. (2021). Water, energy, and carbon dioxide footprints of the construction sector: A case study on developed and developing economies. Water Research, 194, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.116935.
Access Status
Access this item via the Open Access location
Access URL
Open Access URL
Open Access at PMC
Linked Resource URL
NHMRC Grant Code
ARC Grant Code
Description
Abstract
Buildings and construction are major driver of anthropogenic environmental effects. While energy use and CO2 emissions of buildings and construction have been quantified, their water footprint remains understudied from an economy-wide perspective. We use environmentally-extended multi-regional input-output analysis to quantify the water, energy and carbon (dioxide) footprints associated with the construction sector of India, Italy, South Africa, and the UK, disaggregating the supply chains driving these environmental effects by using structural path analysis. Comparisons are made in terms of contributions by country, by sector, by stage of the supply chain and in terms of actual supply chain pathways. Results show that Italy and the UK have more disaggregated and international supply chains compared to India and South Africa. Total (i.e. direct + indirect) water footprints of construction sectors vary from 11.8 to 14.8 L/USD for all countries, except India at 78.1 L/USD. There was no notable correlation between water and energy and carbon dioxide footprints in terms of sectoral contributions, even if the latter two are correlated. More developed economies exhibit a higher share of international WF than developing economies. The current focus on energy and carbon dioxide footprints might therefore miss out on significant water impacts caused by construction activities, globally.