Mitigating emissions and costs through demand-side solutions in Chinese residential buildings

Kairui You (), Yan Li, Weiguang Cai (), Lulu Zhang, Zhengxuan Liu, Wei Feng () and Yi-Ming Wei ()
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Kairui You: Beijing Institute of Technology
Yan Li: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Weiguang Cai: Chongqing University
Lulu Zhang: Beijing Institute of Technology
Zhengxuan Liu: Delft University of Technology
Wei Feng: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yi-Ming Wei: Beijing Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The building sector plays a pivotal role in climate change mitigation. By regulating the demand for services and products from supply sectors, building sector can contribute to decarbonization. To assess the decarbonization and cost-saving potential of demand-side solutions for China’s residential building sector, this study develops a demand-side solution framework and an end-use technology model. The model covers the building sector and major supply sectors, considering the heterogeneous impacts of demand-side solution measures on different supply sectors. Here we show that the most optimistic cost-effective demand-side solution can reduce cumulative CO₂ emissions by 47% (42.21 Gt CO₂-eq), while achieving a 16% saving in the net present value of costs over the period 2020−2060. Additionally, results indicate that the demand-side solution enable China’s rural residential buildings to achieve carbon neutrality without carbon dioxide remove options, while simultaneously mitigating uncertainties in reaching carbon neutrality targets.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62675-0

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