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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

Design and Use of a Full Flow Sampling System (FFS) for the Quantification of Methane Emissions

Design and Use of a Full Flow Sampling System (FFS) for the Quantification of Methane Emissions

Published on: June 12, 2016

Carbon emissions of infrastructure development.

Daniel B Müller¹, Gang Liu, Amund N Løvik

¹Industrial Ecology Programme, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology , 7491 Trondheim, Norway.

Environmental Science & Technology

|September 24, 2013

Summary

Infrastructure development significantly impacts climate change mitigation. Global infrastructure stock in 2008 had a substantial carbon footprint, with industrialized nations contributing disproportionately more per capita.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Climate Change Research
Infrastructure Studies

Background:

Reconciling human development with climate change mitigation necessitates understanding infrastructure's role in well-being and greenhouse gas emissions.
Indirect emissions from infrastructure construction are poorly quantified, despite direct emissions being well-known.

Purpose of the Study:

To estimate the carbon footprint of the global infrastructure stock in 2008.
To compare per-capita infrastructure carbon footprints between industrialized and developing countries.
To assess the climate impact of globalizing Western infrastructure models.

Main Methods:

Estimation of the carbon footprint of existing global infrastructure stock in 2008 using current technologies.
Calculation of average per-capita carbon footprints for industrialized and developing countries.
Modeling the CO2 emissions from materials production for a hypothetical globalization of Western infrastructure.

Main Results:

The global infrastructure stock in 2008 had a carbon footprint of 122 Gt CO2.
Per-capita infrastructure carbon footprint in industrialized countries was approximately five times larger than in developing countries.
Globalizing Western infrastructure models could emit 350 Gt CO2, consuming 35-60% of the remaining carbon budget for the 2°C target.

Conclusions:

Infrastructure development is a critical factor in climate change mitigation strategies.
Urban design and less emissions-intensive materials offer potential mitigation but require more data.
Integrating infrastructure development into climate agreements is crucial for equitable participation of developing nations.