THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR CONTRACTUAL CONSIDERATION OF CONSTRUCTION-RELATED CARBON EMISSIONS FROM CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Construction works of civil infrastructure projects generate a considerable amount of carbon emissions by utilizing a set of energy-intensive equipment and causing traffic congestion. However, the voluntary efforts of the contractor to mitigate these emissions are at an early stage. To address this issue, this paper explores the opportunities to take carbon emissions that would be caused from construction works into consideration in contracting methods and procedures. The opportunities for reducing carbon emissions from construction activities themselves are examined under the framework of Performance Contracting for Construction (PCfC), and carbon emissions from traffic congestion are attempted to be incorporated into the Road User Cost (RUC) calculation. This paper also identifies and discusses major challenges that must be confronted when considering the mitigation of these emissions in contracting methods and procedures.