Energy use embodied in China's construction industry: A multi-regional input-output analysis

The rapid urbanization process was bound to produce considerable energy demand in China, which increased the pressure on sustainable development. This study employed a multi-regional input-output model to investigate energy use embodied in the consumption and interregional trade of China's construction industry. Results show that as a typical demand-driven sector, the construction industry consumed 793.74 million tons of coal equivalent in 2007, which is equal to 29.6% of China's total national energy consumption. Regions have been divided according to different driving forces for energy increment. Shanxi, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Henan, and Sichuan were identified to be driven by their extensive construction activities and inefficient construction process. Interregional imports of the construction industry represented a resource-dependent geographical distribution. Energy flows are from resource-abundant areas in the central part to resource-deficient areas in the eastern coast. By contrast, energy exports represented a regional discrete distribution, which mainly transferred energy in the form of labor mobility and service supply. This study provided insight into the current energy consumption status of provincial construction industry from both regional and sectoral perspectives, which can be a basis for energy policy making and implementation.