Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400

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Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Impact of the clean energy structure of building operation on the

co-benefits of CO2 and air pollutant emission reductions in
Chinese provinces
Lu Yang , Song Hong *
School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, Hubei, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bôas de Energy consumption in the building sector is an essential source of CO2 and air pollution. Identifying the impact
Almeida of changes in the energy structure on emission trends is the basis of scientific control measures. However, the co-
benefits of CO2 and air pollutant emission reductions generated by the change in energy structure for different
Keywords: building types in China are still unknown. Using the cases of 30 provincial regions in China, based on detailed
Clean energy structure
local electricity, heat, and household energy consumption data and emission factors, we established provincial
Building operation
CO2 and air pollutant emissions from building operations during 2016–2020. The impact of changes in the
Co-benefits emission reduction
CO2 energy structure on the co-benefits of air pollutants emission reduction was investigated. Results showed that in
Air pollutants 2020, building operation energy consumption in China was 610 Mtce. CO2 emissions were 2.53 Gt, and emissions
of PM2.5, SO2, and NOX were 0.18, 0.38, and 0.48 Mt, respectively. From 2016 to 2020, urban public buildings
contributed the highest to CO2 and air pollutant emissions. The CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOX indirect emissions of
electricity increased by 52.3, 46.0, 45.2, and 52.5%, respectively. In 2020, the co-benefits of PM2.5 and SO2
emission reduction from the clean energy structure of building operations were higher than that of NOX emission
reduction, and the value of comprehensive co-benefits of air pollutants was 1.5. This work fills the gap in the
evaluation of the co-benefits of air pollutants with low-carbon energy for different building types, and the crucial
sub-sectors in each region with high co-benefits have been picked out.

1. Introduction Center (BEERC) of Tsinghua University, in 2020, the energy consump­

In 2022, under the background of the ‘Beautiful China initiative’
(National Development and Reform Commission, 2020) and ‘carbon
peaking and carbon neutrality goals’ (General Office of the State
Council, 2021), the Chinese government further formulated the
‘Implementation Scheme of Synergistic Emission Reduction of CO2 and
Air Pollutants’ (Ministry of Ecology and Environment and other seven
departments, 2022). This scheme incorporates the goals of emission
reduction into the effectiveness evaluation index system of the local
government. Thus, the coordinated emission reduction of air pollutants
and greenhouse gases is an important direction of China’s current at­
mospheric environment governance.
The building sector is an important sector of air pollutant and
greenhouse gas emissions and accounted for more than 30% of China’s
total anthropogenic emissions of PM2.5 in 2017 (Zhu et al., 2019). Ac­
cording to data released by the Building Energy Efficiency Research
tion in China’s building sector accounted for 32% of the total energy
consumption of the entire society (BERC, 2022), which is close to the
global proportion (IEA, 2020). In that year, the CO2 emissions generated
by building construction and operations in China accounted for
approximately 32% of the total CO2 emissions from energy activities in
China, of which 19% was contributed by building operations (BERC,
2022; IEA, 2021). Simultaneously, owing to the lack of end-treatment
measures for emissions generated by primary energy consumption
during building operations, a variety of emitted air pollutants and
greenhouse gases could lead to severe air pollution (Yang and Teng,
2018), the greenhouse effect (Ding et al., 2019; Zhu et al., 2022) and
health risks (Ding et al., 2020; Ramaswami et al., 2017; Shi et al., 2016).
Hence, studies on the emission characteristics of CO2 and air pollutants
from building operations are not only conducive to the collaborative
emission reduction of air pollutants and greenhouse gases but also help
in reducing human exposure and improving the living environment of

* Corresponding author. School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
E-mail address: songhong@whu.edu.cn (S. Hong).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137400
Received 21 November 2022; Received in revised form 3 April 2023; Accepted 5 May 2023
Available online 16 May 2023
0959-6526/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
L. Yang and S. Hong
residents. In addition, the operation of the construction sector can
generate emissions of CO2 and air pollutants, which have a negative
impact on environmental quality. However, energy conservation and
energy structure optimization in the building sector can reduce emis­
sions and improve the environment, thereby enhancing the sustain­
ability of the construction sector (Nasrollahi et al., 2020).
With the promulgation of the Air Pollution Prevention Action Plan in
2013, the energy structure adjustment of building operations has
become a critical measure of air pollution prevention and control in
China (Hu et al., 2022; Li, 2016). Accordingly, a series of ‘coal to gas’
and ‘coal to electricity’ policies implemented by China has promoted the
emission reduction of air pollutants generated by building operations
(Chen and Chen, 2019a). In particular, PM2.5 emissions decreased the
most significantly, by 30%, from 2008 to 2017 (Peng et al., 2019).
Conversely, CO2 emissions generated by the energy consumption of
China’s construction operations continue to increase (Y.L. Li et al., 2019;
Wang et al., 2023). Numerous studies have focused on the respective
impact of the energy structure on CO2 or air pollutant emissions from
building operations. However, the assessment of the co-benefits of both
CO2 and air pollutant emission reductions was limited (Chen and Chen,
2019a; N. Li et al., 2019). Based on the energy consumption of the
construction sector from 2010 to 2015, Chen et al. set the energy con­
sumption scenarios of the construction sector in different regions of
China from 2016 to 2020. They concluded that the coal substitution
policy could reduce 455 and 122 Kt of SO2 and NOX emissions, respec­
tively (Chen and Chen, 2019b). Xing et al. used 2010 as the base year
and concluded that deep decarbonization policies can significantly
reduce air pollutants by setting five long-term decarbonization scenarios
(Xing et al., 2021). However, these studies were mainly based on
existing energy policies to design possible energy development scenarios
and evaluate the co-benefits of CO2 and air pollutant emission reduction.
The lack of verification of the impact of changes in the actual energy
structure could make it challenging to obtain the real effect of a clean
energy structure on the cooperative emission reduction benefits of CO2
and air pollutants (Guo et al., 2021). Moreover, previous studies have
indicated that the CO2 and air pollutant emission characteristics of
different building sub-sectors are significant (Lin and Liu, 2015; Ma
et al., 2020; Wang and Zhao, 2018), and that their emissions from
building operations show regional variations (Li et al., 2021; Zhao et al.,
2022). Therefore, the spatial and sub-sector heterogeneity should also
be considered when analyzing the emission characteristics of CO2 and
air pollutants from building operations.
Most quantitative studies on ‘co-benefits’ are measured by the rela­
tive magnitude of CO2 and air pollutant emission reductions caused by
implementing a specific policy (Mao et al., 2012, 2013; Rive and Aunan,
2010). However, the amount of pollutant emission reduction is consid­
erably less than that of CO2 emission reduction. With CO2 emissions
taken as the numerator or denominator, the evaluation results will be
correspondingly underestimated or amplified (Rive and Aunan, 2010;
Sun et al., 2010). Consequently, such characterization methods for
co-benefits of emission reduction cannot accurately reflect the actual
situation. This problem can be solved by introducing the relative change
rate of pollutant emissions to evaluate the ‘co-benefits’ (Jiao et al., 2020;
Qian et al., 2021; Shindell et al., 2012). Additionally, this ‘relative
co-benefits’ index can only evaluate the synergistic benefit of emission
reductions in a certain air pollutant and CO2. However, it cannot
comprehensively assess the synergistic benefits of emission reduction of
all air pollutants and CO2. Lu et al. converted the emissions of different
air pollutants into emissions of particulate matter and built a ‘compre­
hensive co-benefits’ index to estimate the synergistic benefits of emis­
sion reductions of air pollutants and CO2(Lu et al., 2019).
Accordingly, we attempt to explore the impact of the energy struc­
ture changes in various regions on reducing CO2 and air pollutant
emissions. Firstly, we considered 30 regions in China as the study area to
establish the emission inventory of CO2 and major air pollutants (PM2.5,
SO2, and NOX) from regional building operations in China from 2016 to
2
Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
2020, and to analyze the change characteristics of these regional emis­
sions. Then, we designed a hypothetical energy structure and compared
its CO2 and air pollutant emissions with those of the actual energy
structure. This work fills the gap in the evaluation of the co-benefits of
air pollutants with low-carbon energy for different building types. Our
contributions are twofold. Results from this study can be used to pick out
the important areas with high co-benefits of building operations and the
crucial sub-sectors in each region with high co-benefits. Moreover,
theoretical support for the coordinated emission reduction of air pol­
lutants and CO2 generated by China’s building operations can be
provided.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Separation of the energy balance sheet
According to the description of each statistical item of terminal en­
ergy consumption in the energy balance sheet of the Energy Statistics
Knowledge Manual, we split the sheet by combining the scope of
building operation energy consumption (Table 1). The diesel and gas­
oline used in each subsector were extracted as the energy consumption
related to transportation. The urban and rural parts of residential energy
consumption were divided into the sub-sector energy consumption of
urban and rural residential buildings. The energy consumption corre­
sponding to wholesale and retail, accommodation and catering, and
other industries were included in the energy consumption of the urban
public building sub-sector. The calculation formula for the building
operation energy consumption is expressed in Equation (1).
e = eUR + eRR + eUP (1)
where e indicates the total energy consumption for building operation
(t); eUR, eRR, and eUP denote the energy consumption of urban residential
buildings, rural residential buildings, and urban public building sub-
sectors, respectively.
2.2. Estimation of pollutant emissions
The emission coefficient method in the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) emission inventory was used to calculate the CO2
and main air pollutant emissions from building operations in all prov­
inces of the country, as expressed in Equation (2).
3 ∑
∑ m
Ex = EFij eij (2)
i j
where Ex denotes the x pollutant emissions for building operation (t);
subscript i represents the different building sub-sectors, and subscript j
refers to the different energy types; EFj is the emission factor for the j-th
energy (g/kg; the unit for gas is g/m3); and eij is the building operation
energy consumption of the j-th energy in the i-th sub-sector (t).
The assessment methods for different pollutant emission factors (EFs)
from different energy types are presented in the Supplementary Infor­
mation (SI), and the calculation results are presented in Tables S1–S4.
Emissions generated by the combustion of fossil fuels are direct emis­
sions, while emissions from electricity and heat consumption are indi­
rect emissions.
2.3. Quantification of energy structure impacts
We designed a hypothetical development scenario for the energy
structure of each province to quantify the impact of energy structure
adjustment on direct pollutant emissions in each province from 2016 to
2020. We assumed that each province will continue to use its existing
energy structure from 2016 to 2020; namely, the total energy con­
sumption in 2020 will be decomposed into the assumed consumption of
L. Yang and S. Hong
Table 1
Separation of energy balance sheet involving building operation energy
consumption.
No. Total Final Statistical content
Consumption
1 Agriculture, The amount of energy
Forestry, Animal consumed by the primary
Husbandry, and industry in the production
Fishery process.
2 Industry All energy consumed by
industrial enterprises in the
industrial and non-
industrial production
process. Non-industrial
production energy
consumption refers to the
energy used by institutions
located in industrial
enterprises but not engaged
in industrial production,
such as scientific research
institutions, farms,
motorcades, schools,
hospitals, canteens,
nurseries, and construction
teams affiliated with the
enterprise.
3 Construction Energy consumed by self-
managed construction
institutions and enterprises
engaged in installation and
construction for capital
construction projects,
various temporary projects,
and affiliated enterprises.
4 Transport, Energy consumed by
Storage, and Post transportation, post, and
telecommunications
enterprises with
independent accounting for
transportation and
communication activities.
And the energy used by
affiliated institutions (e.g.,
factories, self-employed
construction units, stores,
scientific research units,
farms, schools, hospitals,
nurseries, etc.) for non-
transportation, post, and
telecommunications
activities.
5 Wholesale and Energy consumed by
Retail Trades, wholesale, retail,
Hotels, and accommodation, catering,
Catering Services and other enterprises during
the statistical period.
6 Others Energy consumed by the
tertiary industry except for 4
and 5, including services,
health, sports, education,
scientific research,
literature and art, and other
industries, state organs, and
social organizations.
7 Residential The amounts of various
kinds of energy used for life,
including urban and rural
residents, enterprises and
institutions, government
organizations, and the
army.
Separation of building
operation energy
consumption
It is not included in the
energy consumption
statistics of civil
buildings.
The vast majority of
non-industrial
production energy
consumption
excluding
transportation energy
consumption should
have been included in
the energy
consumption statistics
of public buildings.
Without independent
data, it is generally
included in industrial
energy consumption.
It is not included in the
energy consumption
statistics of civil
buildings.
All oil consumption
belongs to
transportation energy
consumption. All
electricity
consumption mainly
occurs in buildings and
is included in public
building energy
consumption.
The remaining part
after deducting the
energy consumption of
transportation is
included in the energy
consumption of public
buildings.
The remaining part
after deducting the
energy consumption of
transportation is
included in the energy
consumption of public
buildings.
The urban and rural
domestic energy
consumption by
deducting traffic
energy consumption
are included in urban
and rural residential
building energy
consumption
3
Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
Table 1 (continued )
No. Total Final Statistical content Separation of building
Consumption operation energy
consumption
respectively. The
energy consumption of
rural enterprises and
government
organizations should
be included in the
energy consumption of
public buildings, but
because there is no
independent data and
the amount is small, it
is included in the
energy consumption of
residential buildings.
each energy type according to the energy structure in 2016. Based on
this, we estimated the assumed pollutant emissions for 2020. The dif­
ference between the actual emissions in 2020 and the assumed emissions
is the pollutant emission reduction caused by the change in the energy
structure in each province from 2016 to 2020, as expressed in Equation
(3).
ΔEx = Ex,h − Ex,a (3)
where ΔECO2 is the emission reduction of x direct pollutant due to
change of energy structure; Ex,h is the x direct pollutant emissions in the
hypothetical scenario; and Ex,a is the actual x direct pollutant emissions.
2.4. Co-benefits effect index
Two indicators were used to measure the synergy between CO2 and
air pollutant emissions from building operations. The first indicator is
the ‘relative degree of co-benefit’ (R1), which is the relative change in
different pollutants, as expressed in Equation (4).
/
ΔEap Eap
R1 = (4)
ΔECO2 /ECO2
where ECO2 and Eap are the CO2 and air pollutant emissions in unit t,
respectively.
R1 can only be used to evaluate the relationship between CO2 and
certain air pollutants. To compare the changes in CO2 emissions and
comprehensive air pollutants, the ‘comprehensive co-benefit’ (R2) was
introduced. SO2 and NOX are equivalent to particulate matter to assess
R2 (Cheng et al., 2019), as expressed in Equations (5)–(7).
ΔEPM∗ /EPM∗
R2 = (5)
ΔECO2 /ECO2
MSO2−4 MNO−3
EPM∗ = EPM2.5 + ESO2 × + ENOX × (6)
MSO2 95% × MNO + 5% × MNO2
MSO2−4 MNO−3
ΔEPM∗ = ΔEPM2.5 + ΔESO2 × + ΔENOX ×
MSO2 95% × MNO + 5% × MNO2
(7)
where EPM∗ and ΔEPM∗ are the equivalent total emissions and emission
reductions of air pollutants, respectively; EPM2.5 , ESO2 , and ENOX are the
total emissions of PM2.5, SO2, and NOX, respectively; ΔEPM2.5 , ΔESO2 , and
ΔENOX are the emission reductions of PM2.5, SO2, and NOX, respectively;
MSO2−4 , MSO2 , MNO−3 , MNO , and MNO2 represent the molecular weights of
SO2−
4 , SO2, NO3 , NO, and NO2, respectively. The proportions of NO and
−
NO2 in the nitrogen oxides were 95 and 5%, respectively.
L. Yang and S. Hong
3. Results
3.1. Changes in energy structure
From 2016 to 2020, the total energy consumption for building op­
erations in China increased from 490 to 610 Mtce (Fig. 1a), with an
annual growth rate of 4.7%. The proportion of primary energy (i.e. coal,
liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas) consumption in building op­
erations has shown a decreasing trend annually since 2017. However,
electricity consumption has increased from 180 Mtce in 2016 to 270
Mtce in 2020, with a cumulative increase of 52.0%. According to the
energy consumption of the three building sub-sectors shown in
Fig. 1b–d, the yearly total energy consumption of urban public building
(UP) is the largest. The energy consumption of the urban residential
building (UR) sub-sector increased by 17.3% from 2016 to 2020. In
2016, the highest energy consumption in the UR sub-sector was for
thermal power (50 Mtce). However, since 2017, electricity has become
the largest type of energy consumption in this sub-sector (60–80 Mtce),
which has increased at an average annual rate of 10%. During these five
years, the annual energy consumption of the rural residential building
(RR) sub-sector increased from 110 to 130 Mtce. After 2017, the elec­
tricity consumption of the RR sub-sector increased by 52.7%. The energy
consumption of the UP sub-sector increased from 210 to 250 Mtce, and
the primary energy consumption has continuously declined. In com­
parison, electricity consumption increased by 51.7%.
From 2016 to 2020, the total energy consumption and energy
structure of building operations in the 30 provinces and cities were
significantly different (Fig. 2). Hebei, Shandong, and Guangdong were
the top three provinces in terms of total energy consumption from
building operations. The energy consumption in Hebei increased from
35.5 to 45.3 Mtce, with a cumulative increase of 27.4%. In contrast, the
three provinces with the lowest energy consumption were Qinghai,
Ningxia, and Hainan, with values of 3.85, 3.20, and 2.83 Mtce in 2020,
respectively. The relative changes in the energy consumption of building
operations of four provinces and cities decreased from 2016 to 2020,
including Chongqing, Heilongjiang, Guizhou, and Jilin, with cumulative
decline rates of 4.2, 4.0, 1.6, and 0.6%, respectively. In the remaining 26
provinces and cities, the annual growth rate of energy consumption
ranged from 0.3 to 9.0%, wherein the annual growth rate of Guangxi
was the highest. In addition, after summarizing the energy balance
sheets of 30 regions in 2016, we found that the data on liquefied
Fig. 1. Energy structure of China’s building operation and construction sub-sectors in 2016–2020. (a) Energy structure of building operation; (BS); (b) Energy
structure of urban residential building sub-sector (UR); (c) Energy structure of rural residential building sub-sector (RR); (d) Energy structure of urban public building
sub-sector (UP).
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Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
petroleum gas, natural gas, electricity, and heat in Guangdong are
identical to those in Beijing. The energy structure of Guangdong Prov­
ince in 2016 differed greatly from other years, while the energy struc­
ture of Beijing City was continuously changing. Therefore, we judge the
energy data of Guangdong in 2016 as abnormal.
The proportion of electricity consumption in each province
increased. The province with the highest proportion of electricity con­
sumption was Fujian Province, accounting for 83–88%. The ratio of
electricity and natural gas consumption (electrification rate) in the 22
provinces and cities exceeded 50%. The top three provinces and cities
with the highest electrification rates were Jiangsu (97.0%), Shanghai
(95.2%), and Fujian (92.3%). From 2016 to 2020, the electrification rate
of Ningxia decreased by 1.7%, whereas those of other regions increased.
Chongqing has the fastest electrification growth rate, with a cumulative
growth rate of 28.2%.
3.2. Changes in CO2 and air pollutant emissions
3.2.1. Sub-sector distribution of emissions
From 2016 to 2020, the amount of CO2 generated by construction
operations in China continued to increase. The relative size of CO2
emissions of the three sub-sectors was as follows: UP sub-sector emis­
sions > UR sub-sector emissions > RR sub-sector emissions (Fig. 3a). In
the past five years, CO2 emissions from construction operations in China
have increased from 1.90 to 2.53 Gt, with an average annual growth rate
of 6.6%. The CO2 emissions of UP in China increased from 0.85 Gt in
2016 to 1.13 Gt in 2020, with a cumulative increase of 33.0%. The CO2
emissions of UR and RR increased by 0.25 and 0.01 Gt in the last five
years, with corresponding annual growth rates of 7.9 and 4.8%,
respectively.
Among the three major air pollutants generated by building opera­
tions in China, PM2.5 and SO2 emissions were the smallest (Fig. 3b–d).
PM2.5 emissions began to decline at an average annual rate of 4.2% in
2017, and the share of emissions in the three sub-sectors was UR > RR >
UP. Conversely, SO2 and NOX emissions show an increasing trend, and
their distributions in the three sub-sectors were similar to those of CO2
emissions: UP > UR > RR. During these five years, NOX emissions
increased significantly, with an increase of 1.5. Mt. SO2 emissions were
relatively stable from 2017 to 2020, and its annual average change rate
was only 2.7%. Among the three sub-sectors, UP accounted for more
than 45% of the air pollutant emissions, wherein it was the main source
L. Yang and S. Hong Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400

Fig. 2. Energy consumption and energy structure of building operation in 30 provinces and cities in China in 2016 and 2020. (Note: The energy data of Guangdong
Province in 2016 was abnormal, which led to the abnormal emission results in that year. Therefore, we used the data from Guangdong in 2017 for analysis in
figure (a).).

Fig. 3. Sub-sector distributions of CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOX emissions from building operations in China from 2016 to 2020.

of PM2.5, SO2, and NOX. RR is the sub-sector with the least contributions
to SO2 and NOX emissions, wherein its contributions ranged from 21.9 to
24.6% and 18.3–19.7%, respectively. The sub-sector with the most
negligible contribution to PM2.5 emissions is UR, accounting for
44.7–46.0%.
The spatiotemporal differences in pollutant emissions from building
operations between the provinces were significant (Fig. 4). Since 2017,
Guangdong has shown the largest CO2 emissions from building opera­
tions each year, increasing from 160 to 200 Mt (Fig. 4a and b). In 2018,
Hebei showed the largest PM2.5 emissions (183 Kt), whereas it was
replaced by Guizhou in other years (2016: 229 Kt; 2017: 248 Kt; 2019:
162 Kt; and 2020: 162 Kt) (Fig. 4c and d). The region showing the most
significant SO2 emissions changed from Heilongjiang in 2016 to
Guangdong in 2020, with a value of 274 Kt (Fig. 4e and f). NOX emis­
sions in Guangdong were always the highest in China, with a value of
390 Kt in 2020. Conversely, the three provinces with the lowest CO2
emissions were Qinghai, Ningxia, and Hainan, wherein the emissions in
2020 were 0.13, 0.15, and 0.16 Mt, respectively. Before 2018, air
pollutant emissions in these three provinces were the lowest nationwide.
However, in 2018, Beijing became the region with the second-lowest
PM2.5 emissions. Subsequently, PM2.5 emissions in this city were
further reduced and became the lowest in China. Meanwhile, since
2018, the city has also been the region with the second lowest SO2
emissions.
According to the relative changes in the regional pollutant emissions,
only Chongqing, Heilongjiang, and Guizhou experienced a decline in
CO2 emissions from 2016 to 2020, with cumulative decline rates of 3.0,
1.2, and 1.0%, respectively. CO2 emissions in the remaining 27 regions
increased to varying degrees, with annual growth rates ranging from
1.2% (Liaoning) to 11.5% (Guangxi). In the same period, the PM2.5
emissions of 16 regions decreased, and Beijing experienced the largest
drop, with a 5-year cumulative decline rate of 80.7%. Among the 14
areas with increased PM2.5 emissions, Guangxi showed the fastest
growth rate, with an annual growth rate of 11.0%. As one of the seven
regions with decreasing SO2 emissions, Beijing experienced the fastest
cumulative decrease of 49.7% over the five years. During 2017–2020,
the NOX emissions generated by building operations in 30 provinces and
cities increased, and the 5-year cumulative growth rates of the four
provinces exceeded 50%, including Xinjiang (5-year cumulative change
rate: 63.5%), Guangxi (63.1%), Gansu (59.0%), and Shandong (55.5%).
3.2.2. Emissions by different energy consumption types
From 2016 to 2020, direct CO2 emissions from primary energy
consumption generally decreased, with the most significant decrease in
2017 (Fig. 5a). Among the primary energy sources, CO2 emissions from
coal combustion decreased the fastest, from 0.37 Gt in 2016 to 0.23 Gt in

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L. Yang and S. Hong Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400

Fig. 4. Sub-sector distributions of pollutant (CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOX) emissions from building operations in 30 provinces and cities in China in 2016 and 2020.
(Note: The energy data of Guangdong Province in 2016 was abnormal, which led to the abnormal emission results in that year. Therefore, we used the data of
Guangdong in 2017 for analysis.)

Fig. 5. Energy proportion of CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOX emissions from building operations in China from 2016 to 2020.

2020. The proportions of indirect CO2 emissions generated by electricity
and heat consumption showed a significant upward trend, with their
contributions increasing by 8.4 and 1.8%, respectively, over the five
years.
Similarly, the emissions of major air pollutants (PM2.5, SO2, and
NOX) generated by primary energy consumption in China decreased at
average annual rates of 7.8, 7.6, and 2.1%, respectively (Fig. 5b–d). Coal
contributed the most to PM2.5 emissions before 2020, but it was grad­
ually replaced by electricity and heat. By 2020, the PM2.5 emissions from
electricity consumption accounted for 44.9% of the total PM2.5 emis­
sions from building operations. The type of energy consumption that
contributed the most to SO2 emissions was electricity, followed by coal,
whereas the contributions of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural
gas were almost negligible. Moreover, the contribution of electricity to

6
L. Yang and S. Hong
SO2 emissions in these five years increased from 55.3 to 67.0%, whereas
that of coal decreased from 30.7 to 17.8%. Additionally, electricity
consumption was the main source of NOX emissions from building op­
erations, and its contribution accounted for 75.1–78.5%, followed by
thermal power (14.9–16.9%).
Pollutant emissions from different energy sources from building
operations in China differed significantly in the northern and southern
regions (Fig. 6). During the study period, the direct CO2 emissions of 22
areas were reduced. Compared to that in the proportion of emission
contribution of different energy types, the change in the proportion of
direct CO2 emissions in Heilongjiang decreased the most, from 42.9% in
2016 to 13.6% in 2020. The region with the largest change in the pro­
portion of indirect thermal emissions of CO2 was Zhejiang, with a cu­
mulative increase of 22.5%. The ratio of indirect CO2 emissions from
electricity in all regions increased, with the fastest growth being
observed in Chongqing. In those five years, except for Jiangxi, the pro­
portion of direct PM2.5 emissions increased slightly, while that of other
regions decreased. The proportion of direct SO2 and NOX emissions
decreased in all provinces and cities. Beijing experienced the fastest
proportion of direct PM2.5 and SO2 emissions, with average annual
decline rates of 11.6 and 8.2%, respectively. The greatest decline in the
proportion of direct NOX emissions occurred in Guizhou. In contrast, the
proportions of indirect PM2.5 and SO2 emissions from electricity in 30
regions increased to varying degrees, and Chongqing showed the largest
changes in both pollutants. The proportion of indirect NOx emissions
Fig. 6. Energy proportions of CO2 and air pollutants (PM2.5, SO2, and NOX) from building operations in 30 provinces and cities in China in 2016 and 2020. (Note: The
energy data of Guangdong Province in 2016 was abnormal, which led to the abnormal emission results in that year. Therefore, we used the data of Guangdong in
2017 for analysis.)
7
Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
from electricity increased in 22 regions, wherein Xinjiang showed the
fastest growth. The proportion of indirect thermal emissions of air pol­
lutants in most regions is relatively stable. The proportion of the three
air pollutants in more than two-thirds of the regions changed by less
than 5%. Notably, in these five years, the direct PM2.5 and SO2 emissions
in Beijing were mainly substituted by other energy types instead of
electricity.
In 2020, the maximum direct emissions, indirect thermal emissions,
and indirect electric power emissions of CO2 were observed in Jiangsu
(42 Mt), Jilin (60 Mt), and Jiangxi (180 Mt). In that year, Guizhou
showed the largest direct emissions of PM2.5 and SO2 from primary
energy consumption, with values of 140 and 183 Kt, accounting for 83.3
and 52.7% of the total PM2.5 and SO2 emissions from local building
operations, respectively. Furthermore, direct emissions in this area
mainly originated from coal combustion. The province with the largest
direct NOX emissions was Hebei, with a value of 23 Kt, and natural gas
was the major source. The indirect PM2.5 emissions generated by elec­
tricity consumption in 13 regions accounted for more than 50%, and
more than 90% in Guangxi, Jiangsu, and Hainan. The proportion of
indirect SO2 emissions from electricity exceeded 50% in 25 provinces,
and that in Hainan was close to 100%. Additionally, indirect NOX
emissions accounted for more than 90% of the total NOX emissions from
local building operations in 12 regions. The indirect emissions of PM2.5,
SO2, and NOx generated by heat consumption were led by Heilongjiang
in 2020, with values of 32, 100, and 125 Kt, respectively.
L. Yang and S. Hong
3.3. Co-benefit effects
From 2016 to 2020, through the energy structure transformation in
2020, the direct emissions of CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOX from building
operations in China were reduced by 207.9 Mt, 570.7 Kt, 505.1 Kt, and
111.6 Kt, respectively (Table 2). Emission reduction was mainly ach­
ieved by the energy structure adjustment of UPs.
According to the ‘degree of relative co-benefit’ (R1) of pollutants
under hypothetical and actual scenarios (Fig. 7), the direct emissions of
air pollutants and CO2 from each sub-sector simultaneously increase or
decrease. From the R1 of building operation, the co-benefits of PM2.5,
SO2, and NOX direct emissions were 1.5, 1.8, and 1.0, respectively. In
particular, when the energy structure adjustment of China’s building
operations in 2020 contributes to a reduction of 1% in CO2 emissions,
the PM2.5, SO2, and NOX emissions would be reduced by 1.5, 1.8, and
1.0%, respectively. Compared to the relative co-benefit of different air
pollutants, the co-benefits of PM2.5 and SO2 are higher than that of NOX.
The R1 values of these three air pollutants were similar in the various
sub-sectors. The UR sub-sector has the most considerable synergistic
emission reduction, with R1 values of 3.5, 5.0, and 1.1 for PM2.5, SO2,
and NOX, respectively. Additionally, the value of the ‘comprehensive co-
benefit’ (R2) of building operations was 1.5. The R2 values of the UR, RR,
and UP were 2.7, 1.5, and 1.2, respectively.
As the electrification rates of the 30 regions improved to varying
degrees in 2020, with the energy consumption in 2020 being allocated
according to the energy structure in 2016, the direct CO2 emissions from
building operations under the hypothetical scenario were higher than
the actual emissions in 29 regions (Table S6). Henan is the only region
wherein the assumed CO2 emissions are lower than actual emissions.
Under the hypothetical scenario, the direct CO2 emissions of the UR, RR,
and UP sub-sectors are lower than the actual emissions in two (Henan
and Tianjin), four (Hainan, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, and Chongqing),
and one (Henan) regions (Tables S7–9).
The spatial heterogeneity of the co-benefits of the different air pol­
lutants is noteworthy (Fig. 8). The relative co-benefits of PM2.5
(R1_PM2.5) in most regions were within 10, whereas this indicator in
some regions was far higher than that of the national average (Fig. 8a).
Regions with the highest R1_PM2.5, in the UR, RR, and UP sub-sectors are
Anhui (129.3), Shannxi (22.2), and Anhui (315.7), respectively. Simi­
larly, the relative co-benefits of SO2 (R1_SO2) in the 23 regions were less
than 10 (Fig. 8b). UR is the sub-sector with the largest R1_SO2 among the
16 regions. The largest deviation of R1_ SO2 from the corresponding
national level was that of UP in Anhui (1303.8). In contrast, variations in
the relative regional co-benefits of NOX (R1_NOX) were minor (Fig. 8c).
The absolute value of this index in each sub-sector is not more than 3.
The largest sub-sector of R1_NOX was the RR in 14 regions. Additionally,
Shanghai (6.6) showed the most significant comprehensive co-benefits
of air pollutants (R2_PM*) from building operations (Fig. 8d). The
R2_PM* values from the building operations in Ningxia (− 0.3) and
Henan (− 9.9) were negative. The highest R2_PM* values for UR, RR, and
UP were observed in Hubei (19.1), Jiangxi (5.4), and Qinghai (7.6). The
sub-sectors with the largest R2_PM* in 18, 4, and 8 regions are UR, RR,
and UP, respectively.
Table 2
Emission reduction of pollutants achieved by the energy structure adjustment of
building operation in 2020.
Sub-sector CO2 (Mt) PM2.5 (Kt) SO2 (Kt) NOX (Kt) PM* (Kt)
BS 207.9 570.7 505.1 111.6 1552.6
UR 72.5 134.6 161.8 45.3 468.3
RR 43.1 176.6 124.5 20.4 404.3
UP 92.3 259.4 218.8 46.0 680.0
8
Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
Fig. 7. Co-benefit effects of major air pollutants in different building operation
sub-sectors in China from 2016 to 2020.
4. Discussion and implications
4.1. Energy intensity and CO2 emission intensity
We supplemented the comparison of energy intensity (Fig. S1) and
CO2 emission intensity of building operations (Fig. S2) of regions in
2020 to thoroughly analyze the regional characteristics of energy con­
sumption and CO2 emissions. In building operations (Fig. S2a), ac­
cording to the relative position of per capita CO2 emissions (PE_BS) and
unit building area CO2 (EIE_BS) at the national average level, 30 regions
can be divided into four categories: 1) regions with PE_BS and EIE_BS
lower than the national average, including 12 provinces and cities.
These regions were represented by Jiangxi and Guangxi, wherein the
electrification rates were relatively high, the regional heat consumption
was relatively small, and the energy intensities were lower than the
national average (Fig. S1a). 2) Regions with PE_BS and EIE_BS higher
than the national average, including 13 provinces and cities. Some re­
gions showed a large amount of indirect thermal emissions (e.g. Shan­
dong, Inner Mongolia, and Heilongjiang) or direct emissions (e.g.
Guizhou and Hebei). Moreover, the low energy efficiency in some re­
gions may also lead to ‘low energy consumption generating high emis­
sions’ (Chen et al., 2019). 3) Regions where EIE_BS and PE_BS values
were higher and lower than the national average, respectively, including
Gansu, Guangdong, Hainan, and Hunan. 4) Regions where PE_BS and
EIE_BS values were higher and lower than the national average,
respectively, including only Zhejiang. As Zhejiang’s PE_BS is close to the
national average, it is classified as the third category. The CO2 emission
reduction space per unit area in such areas is larger than that of the per
capita CO2. Similarly, combined with the performance of regional CO2
emission intensity and energy intensity in different building sub-sectors
(Figs. S1b–d, Figs. S2b–d), we also determined the key sub-sectors of
CO2 emission reduction in various regions. For example, the CO2 emis­
sion reduction work of Hainan’s building operation needs to focus on its
UP sub-sectors, whereas Hebei and Guangdong need to focus on
strengthening the CO2 emission reduction of the RR sub-sector.
4.2. Spatial heterogeneity
Energy consumption and CO2 emissions in some regions showed a
reverse trend. For example, from 2016 to 2020, building operation en­
ergy consumption in Chongqing, Heilongjiang, and Guizhou decreased
by 21.1, 19.9, and 7.8%, respectively, but their CO2 emissions decreased
by less than 3%. This indicates that reasonably adjusting the energy
structure of local building operations can be a more effective policy
direction to reduce CO2 emissions. The indirect emission factors of CO2
by electricity in all the regions were generally higher than those by heat.
Therefore, although the heating was the most common energy type in
L. Yang and S. Hong
Fig. 8. Co-benefit effects of major air pollutants in different building operation sub-sectors in 30 regions from 2016 to 2020.
some regions, its CO2 emissions were less than those generated by
electricity consumption. This further highlights the importance of low
carbon in the power industry to achieve the ‘carbon neutral’ goal of
regional building operations (Khanna et al., 2019).
4.3. Differences in sub-sectors
According to the sub-sector distribution of CO2 and air pollutant
emissions, urban public buildings contribute to the highest proportion of
emissions. Besides, the largest electrification rate and the fastest rate of
increase from 2016 to 2020 both emerge in this sub-sector (Fig. S3).
However, the emissions of CO2, SO2, and NOX produced by this sub-
sector increased yearly. This suggests that setting a reasonable
regional maximum of total energy consumption and energy intensity
should not be ignored to decrease pollutants emissions. Additionally, we
found that the contribution of heat to the emission of SO2 and NOX in
northern areas involving central heating accounted for a large propor­
tion. It is necessary to strengthen the implementation of clean heating in
northern areas to further reductions in building operations. The findings
match those observed in earlier studies by Tang et al. (2021). Emission
reductions of CO2 and air pollutants from urban residential buildings
generated by the cleaning of energy structure is smaller than that of
urban public buildings, but its co-benefits of air pollutants are the
highest. We further investigated the regional energy electrification rate
9
Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
and co-benefits and found that the two are not simple linear correlations.
Compared with the energy structure in 2016, the adjustment of the
energy structure in Hebei in 2020 could lead to increased direct CO2
emissions from building operations. This is mainly because the propor­
tion of its electricity in urban public buildings in 2020 decreased by
nearly 10% compared to 2016 (Fig. S3c).
4.4. Limitation
This study used the actual energy structure change in building op­
erations to assess the impact of energy cleaning on the co-benefits of CO2
and air pollutant emission reduction. However, these results mainly
focused on the relative changes in regional emissions and did not
represent the absolute emission reductions. This study has some limi­
tations in terms of the methods and data. First, this study analyzed the
regional characteristics of CO2 and pollutant emissions from building
operations through macro statistics; however, the specific emission
sources are vague. Second, although the rationality and regional dif­
ferences in pollutant emission factors were considered to the greatest
extent, the value of each emission factor used to calculate the emissions
remains uncertain (Lou et al., 2022). Such problems may be solved by
improving platforms such as China’s greenhouse gas statistics account.
Besides, we do not directly consider the application of renewable energy
in building operations in this article. On the one hand, with the
L. Yang and S. Hong
limitations of the data, renewable energy consumption data for the
regional building sector is lacking. On the other hand, the application of
new energy is mainly used for power supply or heating, thereby indi­
rectly participating in the energy consumption of building operations.
Therefore, we have not considered the application of renewable energy
separately. Future studies can improve the spatiotemporal resolution
ratio and data accuracy of pollutant emissions from building operations
through multi-data fusion, including statistical, remote sensing, and
measured data.
5. Conclusion
In this study, we aimed to quantitatively evaluate the impacts of the
clean energy structure on the co-benefits of CO2 and air pollutant
emission reductions in 30 regions in China from 2016 to 2020. In 2020,
the energy consumption of China’s building operations was 610 Mtce.
The CO2 emissions were 2.53 Gt, and the emissions of PM2.5, SO2, and
NOX were 0.18, 0.38, and 0.48 Mt, respectively. Among the three
building sub-sectors, UPs accounted for the largest proportion of energy
consumption, but URs experienced the most significant increase in en­
ergy consumption. The UP sub-sector had the highest contribution to all
pollutants. From 2016 to 2020, the electrification rate in building op­
erations increased by 12.5%, resulting in 52.3, 46.0, 45.2, and 52.5%
increases of CO2, PM2.5, SO2, and NOX emissions. During the ‘13th Five
Year Plan’ period, electricity consumption contributed the most to CO2,
SO2, and NOX emissions from building operations in China. However,
before 2020, coal consumption contributed the most to PM2.5 emissions,
but was replaced by electricity consumption in 2020. The regional
characteristics of the energy structure, CO2 emissions, and air pollutant
emissions are significant. From 2016 to 2020, the proportion of primary
energy consumption decreased in 30 regions in China, whereas the
electrification rate increased, except in Ningxia. The ratio of coal con­
sumption in construction operations in Guizhou was substantially higher
than that in other regions (more than 60%). The proportion of indirect
thermal emissions of CO2, PM2.5, and SO2 increased in the 15 northern
regions with urban central heating. Cleaning the energy structures has
synergistic emission reduction benefits for CO2 and air pollutant emis­
sions from building operations. When the energy structure adjustment of
China’s building operations in 2020 contributes to a 1% reduction in
CO2 emissions, the PM2.5, SO2, and NOX emissions could be reduced by
1.5, 1.8, and 1.0%, respectively. The UR sub-sector has the largest
relative co-benefits of the three air pollutants. The value of the relative
co-benefit of PM2.5 and SO2 in most regions was within 10. The values of
regional relative co-benefits of NOX (R1_NOX) were small and less than 3.
The UR, RR, and UP sub-sectors had the largest comprehensive co-
benefits of air pollutants in 18, 4, and 8 regions, respectively.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Lu Yang: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Meth­
odology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. Song
Hong: Supervision.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
10
Journal of Cleaner Production 413 (2023) 137400
org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137400.
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