Unlocking New Opportunities for Carbon Neutrality in China’s Building Sector

This report by RMI analyzes opportunities to decarbonize China's building sector to achieve carbon neutrality, focusing on operational emissions, embodied carbon, new growth models, and social equity.

• In 2022, the building sector accounted for 32 percent of China's CO2 emissions. Although emissions have plateaued since 2014, the sector's continued growth necessitates decoupling emissions from expansion.
• The report identifies four primary areas for decarbonization: reducing operational emissions through energy flexibility and zero-carbon heating; reducing embodied carbon via low-carbon procurement and bio-based materials; creating a new growth model through technology integration and market mechanisms; and enhancing equity by applying low-carbon solutions to rural buildings, old neighborhoods, and affordable housing.
• The next 5 to 10 years are identified as a critical window for China's building sector to move toward carbon neutrality, with growth driven by low-carbon retrofits of existing buildings and new green buildings.

APA

RMI (2024). Unlocking New Opportunities for Carbon Neutrality in China’s Building Sector. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-new-opportunities-for-carbon-neutrality-in-chinas-building-sector/

Chicago

RMI. Unlocking New Opportunities for Carbon Neutrality in China’s Building Sector. 2024. https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-new-opportunities-for-carbon-neutrality-in-chinas-building-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Unlocking New Opportunities for Carbon Neutrality in China’s Building Sector |date=23 September 2024 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-new-opportunities-for-carbon-neutrality-in-chinas-building-sector/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2024unlocking, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Unlocking New Opportunities for Carbon Neutrality in China’s Building Sector}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/unlocking-new-opportunities-for-carbon-neutrality-in-chinas-building-sector/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }