The Energy Rebound Effect for the Construction Industry: Empirical Evidence from China

As the largest energy consumer and carbon emitter, China has made substantial efforts to improve energy efficiency to save energy, while the energy rebound effect mitigates its effectiveness. This paper is based on the logical relationship among capital input, technical change, economic growth, and energy consumption, adapting an alternative estimation model to estimate the energy rebound effect for the construction industry in China. Empirical results reveal that the average energy rebound effect for the construction industry in China was about 59.5% during the period of 1990–2014. It is indicated that the energy rebound effect does exist in China’s construction industry and it presents a fluctuating declining trend. This indicates that approximately half of the potential energy saving by technical change is achieved. It could be concluded that proper energy pricing reforms and energy taxes should be implemented to promote sustainable development in the construction industry for China’s government.