The dynamic global aluminium use across production systems to consumption systems

Zijie Ma, Qiumeng Zhong, Alvaro Calzadilla and Matthew Winning

Ecological Economics, 2026, vol. 239, issue C

Abstract: The global aluminium (Al) industry is traditionally known for high energy consumption and intensive emissions. Achieving circularity and dematerialisation in this industry requires joint efforts from both, the production and consumption sides. This study combines dynamic material flow analysis and an environmentally-extended multi-regional input-output analysis to track global Al use across nine regions from 2007 to 2017. Results show that China became the largest Al consumer in 2001, using ∼460 Mt. over 50 years (26 % of global use) and exporting mainly to North America and Europe. Transportation and Building & Construction dominate Al end-use (∼50 %), while the service industry's share rose to 17 % in 2017. While current policies on Al decarbonisation primarily focus on controlling the global Al production, future policies should aim the dematerialisation of the service industry to reduce indirect Al use. Our results highlight important regional and sectoral differences, which must be consider when formulating future decarbonisation strategies.

Keywords: Aluminium use; Material flow analysis; Environmentally-extended multi-regional input-output; Circular economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:239:y:2026:i:c:s0921800925002538

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108770

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