Publication: Embodied Carbon Emissions
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Published
2024
ISSN
Date
2025-04-17
Author(s)
Chen, Tao
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Abstract
The United Nation (UN) projects that 2.5 billion more people will live in cities by 2050, up from 4.4 billion today. Of the growing global population, most will come from the urban areas of low- and middle-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with Sub-Saharan African cities currently already seeing a 4.1 percent growth in population annually. African cities need to construct an estimated 56 million additional housing units to meet demand. The construction of this volume of new buildings and accompanying urban infrastructure involves significant embodied carbon emissions, i.e., emissions stemming from manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials. While public discourse often centers around curtailing operational emissions, for example through energy efficiency and low-carbon energy supply, embodied emissions may surpass operational emissions, depending on the project. There has been limited research comparing operational and embodied emissions at the scale of entire cities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. However, rough calculations suggest that in certain cases, embodied emissions may approach or even exceed the volume of operational emissions, for example in rapidly expanding cities with relatively low operational emissions due to mild climates, low household incomes, or renewable sources of grid electricity. This note is intended as an introduction to the subject of embodied emissions, aimed at urban decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries, including government officials, urban planners, advisors from international organizations, and others. It assesses prevailing practices within the construction industry and delves into several options to mitigate embodied emissions associated with construction. The annex also provides an overview on tools that can aid in estimating the environmental impact of various construction standards and policies.
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“Chen, Tao; Deuskar, Chandan. 2024. Embodied Carbon Emissions. City Climate Finance Gap Fund Technical Note. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43086 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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