A review of recent proposals for addressing climate change impact in the construction industry
Keywords:
adaptation, emission reduction, energy conservation, integrated approach, mitigation, structural evolutionAbstract
Proposals for addressing the problem of climate change have been put forward since the 1970s when the issue of the ozone layer depletion became an object of concern. Within the construction industry, research has been going on to see how best to manage the effects of climate change within its own limits. While the concept of changing climate is a natural phenomenon, the accelerated changes that have been witnessed world-wide within the last century can only be blamed on human activity. While it is desirable to curb human activities that are protracting the issue, developing proposals to manage the effects of climate change on the environment has become crucial. This review set out to examine the measures being proposed in recent years for the construction industry with a view to determining which set of ideas are receiving more support for application in the immediate present and the future. The investigation was carried out by sourcing articles from Web of Science that covered the climate change topic for the construction industry between 2009 and 2023. The materials were screened to thirty most relevant articles to extract the proposals for thorough investigation. The research discovered that proposals were centred on energy conservation, emission reduction and structural evolution. It was concluded that despite more publications reporting on some proposals, no position is superior. The study proposes that efforts should be made to emphasise and promote the adoption of adaptation measures and integrated design approach in developing countries while finding ways to improve implementation.
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