China's construction sector sees drop in energy use, emissions during build phase, rise in operations

China's construction sector saw modest declines in energy consumption and carbon emissions in 2024, although both measures increased during the operational phase of the nation's building stock, according to a recent report.

Released on Wednesday in Beijing, the report was compiled by the China Association of Building Energy Efficiency and Chongqing University, based in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

In 2024, energy consumption during the construction process nationwide was 1.25 billion metric tons of standard coal, a decrease of 20 million tons from the previous year, the report said.

The corresponding carbon dioxide equivalent emissions were 2.78 billion tons, down by 60 million tons year-on-year. The majority of the consumption and emissions came from producing and using construction materials, it noted.

However, energy consumption from operating all civil buildings across the country rose by 40 million tons to 1.3 billion tons of standard coal. Despite this increase, its share in the country's total energy consumption edged down by 0.1 percentage points to 21.8 percent.

Buildings' operational carbon emissions reached 2.47 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2024, up by 60 million tons. The report highlighted a marked deceleration in the growth rate of building operational energy consumption and carbon emissions.

From 2000 to 2024, operational energy use in buildings climbed by 1.02 billion tons of standard coal, with an average annual growth of 6.5 percent. However, the increase in 2024 was only 3.2 percent year-on-year. Similarly, operational carbon emissions increased by 1.81 billion tons of CO2 equivalent over the period, growing at an average of 5.7 percent annually, compared to just 2.5 percent in 2024.