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Evaluating the Link between Low Carbon Reductions Strategies and Its Performance in the Context of Climate Change: A Carbon Footprint of a Wood-Frame Residential Building in Quebec, Canada

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  • Alejandro Padilla-Rivera

    (NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Ecoresponsible Wood Construction, Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, 2425 Rue de la Terrasse, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada)

  • Ben Amor

    (Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory on Sustainable Engineering and Ecodesign (LIRIDE), Civil Engineering Department, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC J1K 2R1, Canada)

  • Pierre Blanchet

    (NSERC Industrial Research Chair on Ecoresponsible Wood Construction, Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, 2425 Rue de la Terrasse, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, Québec, QC G1V 0A6, Canada)

Abstract

The design and study of low carbon buildings is a major concern in a modern economy due to high carbon emissions produced by buildings and its effects on climate change. Studies have investigated (CFP) Carbon Footprint of buildings, but there remains a need for a strong analysis that measure and quantify the overall degree of GHG emissions reductions and its relationship with the effect on climate change mitigation. This study evaluates the potential of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the building sector by evaluating the (CFP) of four hotpots approaches defined in line with commonly carbon reduction strategies, also known as mitigation strategies. CFP framework is applied to compare the (CC) climate change impact of mitigation strategies. A multi-story timber residential construction in Quebec City (Canada) was chosen as a baseline scenario. This building has been designed with the idea of being a reference of sustainable development application in the building sector. In this scenario, the production of materials and construction (assembly, waste management and transportation) were evaluated. A CFP that covers eight actions divided in four low carbon strategies, including: low carbon materials, material minimization, reuse and recycle materials and adoption of local sources and use of biofuels were evaluated. The results of this study shows that the used of prefabricated technique in buildings is an alternative to reduce the CFP of buildings in the context of Quebec. The CC decreases per m 2 floor area in baseline scenario is up to 25% than current buildings. If the benefits of low carbon strategies are included, the timber structures can generate 38% lower CC than the original baseline scenario. The investigation recommends that CO 2 eq emissions reduction in the design and implementation of residential constructions as climate change mitigation is perfectly feasible by following different working strategies. It is concluded that if the four strategies were implemented in current buildings they would have environmental benefits by reducing its CFP. The reuse wood wastes into production of particleboard has the greatest environmental benefit due to temporary carbon storage.

Suggested Citation

  • Alejandro Padilla-Rivera & Ben Amor & Pierre Blanchet, 2018. "Evaluating the Link between Low Carbon Reductions Strategies and Its Performance in the Context of Climate Change: A Carbon Footprint of a Wood-Frame Residential Building in Quebec, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2715-:d:161478
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Agnieszka Sadłowska-Sałęga & Krzysztof Wąs, 2021. "Moisture Risk Analysis for Three Construction Variants of a Wooden Inverted Flat Roof," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Hongmei Liu & Rong Guo & Junjie Tian & Honghao Sun & Yi Wang & Haiyan Li & Lu Yao, 2022. "Quantifying the Carbon Reduction Potential of Recycling Construction Waste Based on Life Cycle Assessment: A Case of Jiangsu Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Puxin Liu, 2023. "An assessment of financial mechanisms for green financial recovery and climate change mitigation: the case of China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 1567-1584, June.
    5. Harkaitz García & Mikel Zubizarreta & Jesús Cuadrado & Juan Luis Osa, 2018. "Sustainability Improvement in the Design of Lightweight Roofs: A New Prototype of Hybrid Steel and Wood Purlins," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    6. Nam Yi Yun & M. Ali Ülkü, 2023. "Sustainable Supply Chain Risk Management in a Climate-Changed World: Review of Extant Literature, Trend Analysis, and Guiding Framework for Future Research," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-32, September.
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