Ecological relationships of global construction industries in sustainable economic and energy development. (1st November 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Bin; Gao, Qun; Liang, Lingfeng; Sun, Jide; Liu, Chunlu; Xu, Youquan
• Is Part Of: Energy. Volume 234(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-11-01
• Subjects: Ecological relationship -- Embodied energy -- International construction industries -- Value added; Power resources -- Periodicals; Power (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Energy consumption -- Periodicals; 333.7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.121249
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-5442

Abstract

Abstract: Value-added trade has increased rapidly in recent decades in the context of globalisation. This paper aims to measure the energy embodied in the value-added trade and the ecological relationships in the networks of the international construction industries. A hybrid method which combines ecological network analysis and the input–output method has been adopted. The direct energy intensities in most countries ranged from 0 to 3.0 trillion joules per million US$ and the dominant relationships were control and exploitation in the selected 15 years. For the construction sector, the negative relationships were dominant at 63.9% in Australia and 79.19% in China. The ratio of positive relationships increased from 24.3% to 31.5%, while the ratio of negative relationships declined from 75.7% to 68.5% over the 15 years. The mutualism index ranged from 0.72 to 0.98 over the 15 years, maintaining a value less than 1. In contrast, the synergism index had an increase of 12.2 over the 15 years. The results indicate that both direct energy intensity and the value-added ratio are important factors in relation to the energy embodied in value-added trade. Sectoral influence on the national industrial system has been interpreted in this paper to stimulate further research. Highlights: The energy embodied in the value-added trade of the international construction industries. The combination of ecological and economic connections in an analysis of value-added trade. The influence of specific construction sectors on the network depending on flow capacity. The exploitation and control relationships that dominate the value-added trade system. The balance between the value-added ratio and energy intensity in sustainable development.