• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.58-74
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• 2021

Purpose - This paper research on the embodied carbon emission in Sino-Korea trade. It calculates and analyzes the carbon emission coefficient and specific carbon emissions in Sino-Korea trade from 2005 to 2014. Design/methodology - This paper conducted an empirical analysis for embodied carbon emission in Sino-Korea trade during the years 2005-2014, using a multi-region input-output model. First, direct and complete CO2 emission coefficient of the two countries were calculated and compared. On this basis, combined with the world input-output table, the annual import and export volume and sector volume of embodied carbon emission are determined. Then through the comparative analysis of the empirical results, the reasons for the carbon imbalance in Sino-Korea trade are clarified, and the corresponding suggestions are put forward according to the environmental protection policies being implemented by the two countries. Findings - The results show that South Korea is in the state of net trade export and net embodied carbon import. The carbon emission coefficient of most sectors in South Korea is lower than that of China. However, the reduction of carbon emission coefficient in China is significantly faster than that in South Korea in this decade. The change of Korea's complete CO2 emission coefficient shows that policy factors have a great impact on environmental protection. The proportion of intra industry trade between China and South Korea is relatively large and concentrated in mechanical and electrical products, chemical products, etc. These sectors generally have large carbon emissions, which need to be noticed by both countries. Originality/value - To the best knowledge of the authors, this study is the first attempt to research the embodied carbon emission of ten consecutive years in Sino-Korea Trade. In addition, In this paper, some mathematical methods are used to overcome the error problem caused by different statistical caliber in different databases. Finally, the accurate measurement of carbon level in bilateral trade will provide some reference for trade development and environmental protection.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.37-67
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• 2024

This paper analyses carbon emissions and value-added embodied in trade between two large developed countries, South Korea and the United States, during 2000-2014. Using multi-regional input-output (MRIO) tables, our analysis reveals that carbon emissions and value-added embodied in exports grew by 19% and 101% for South Korea but shrank by 43% and 7% for the United States. As a result, South Korea experienced a 40% increase in net carbon exports and 243% increase in net value-added exports. At the industry level, the primary drivers of changes in carbon exports were electricity and basic materials. The majority of industries in witnessed improvements in carbon intensities suggesting improved environmental efficiency. While both countries achieved a decoupling of carbon emissions from value-added exports, substantial year-to-year and sectoral variations were observed. Finally, structural decomposition analysis indicates that domestic supply-side factors played a role in decreasing emissions whereas foreign demand-side factors contributed to emissions increases. In line with the main findings, various implications for policy and future research are discussed.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.14-23
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• 2017

In high-density high-rise cities such as Hong Kong, buildings account for nearly 90% of energy consumption and 61% of carbon emissions. Therefore, it is important to study the design of buildings, especially high-rise buildings, to achieve lower carbon emissions in the city. The carbon emissions of a building consist of embodied carbon from the production of construction materials and operational carbon from energy consumption during daily operation (e.g., air-conditioning and lighting). An integrated analysis of both types of carbon emissions can strengthen the design of low carbon buildings, but most of the previous studies concentrated mainly on either embodied or operational carbon. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to develop a holistic methodology framework considering both embodied and operational carbon, in order to enhance the sustainable design of low carbon high-rise buildings. The framework will be based on the building information modeling (BIM) technology because BIM can be integrated with simulation systems and digital models of different disciplines, thereby enabling a holistic design and assessment of low carbon buildings. Structural analysis program is first coupled with BIM to validate the structural performance of a building design. The amounts of construction materials and embodied carbon are then quantified by a BIM-based program using the Dynamo programming interface. Operational carbon is quantified by energy simulation software based on the green building extensible Markup Language (gbXML) file from BIM. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) will be applied to analyze the ambient wind effect on indoor temperature and operational carbon. The BIM-based framework serves as a decision support tool to compare and explore more environmentally-sustainable design options to help reduce the carbon emissions in buildings.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.141-164
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• 2015

The concept of consumption-based greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory is directly related with the carbon content of international trade. Along the lines of the consumption-based GHG inventory, we investigate domestic and foreign carbon contents embodied in sectoral exports of Korea. In addition to the analysis of carbon content of exports, it is investigated how much share of responsibility for carbon emissions of Korea belongs to each major trading partner of Korea. We also compute the carbon intensities of Korean exports in carbon chain with other trading partners and find some characteristics revealed in Korea's carbon emissions embodied in its exports.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.31-52
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• 2013

The recent analyses of carbon emissions embodied in international trade are related with discussions on who is responsible for the carbon emissions causing global warming. Some authors insist that the countries importing carbon-intensive goods should share the responsibility with the suppliers of those goods. In order to determine which countries are net importers of carbon dioxide embodied in traded goods, we need to construct the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model incorporating national input-output tables and data on bilateral trades. The paper calculates consumption-based as well as production-based inventories by using MRIO model whose global database is GTAP version 8 to get the picture of carbon footprints in international trades of Korea and other regions in the world.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.441-468
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• 2004

We estimate carbon embodied in the export goods of Korea. A commodity-by-industry IO model ($CO_2$ hybrid IO model) is constructed for the estimation. In the model, all monetary units of energy commodities are converted to physical unit, carbon tons. Results show that total $CO_2$ embodied in the exports of non-energy goods of Korea equals 51.18 million carbon ton or 44% of total $CO_2$ emissions in Korea in 2000. Overall carbon intensity of export goods is estimated as 0.227 carbon ton per million Won. These findings suggest Korea's responsibility on global warming may be imputed to the countries who import and consume Korean goods. It is in accordance with the user pay principle. It is also argued that if UNFCCC impose the burden of $CO_2$ mitigation on importing countries rather than exporting countries, we can prevent '$CO_2$ emission leakages' effectively.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.385-404
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• 2018

The study investigated an area of sustainable structural design that is often overlooked in practical engineering applications. Specifically, a novel method to simultaneously optimise the cost and embodied carbon performance of steel building structures was explored in this paper. To achieve this, a parametric design model was developed to analyse code compliant structural configurations based on project specific constraints and rigorous testing of various steel beam sections, floor construction typologies (precast or composite) and column layouts that could not be performed manually by engineering practitioners. Detailed objective functions were embedded in the model to compute the cost and life cycle carbon emissions of the different material types used in the structure. Results from a comparative numerical analysis of a real case study illustrated that the proposed optimisation approach could guide structural engineers towards areas of the solution space with realistic design configurations, enabling them to effectively evaluate trade-offs between cost and carbon performance. This significant contribution implied that the optimisation model could reduce the time required for the design and analysis of multiple structural configurations especially during the early stages of a project. Overall, the paper suggested that the deployment of automated design procedures can enhance the quality as well as the efficiency of the optimisation analysis.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.621-655
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• 2004

Emission Trading (ET) among Annex I countries as expounded in Kyoto mechanism can be an effective mean to control Greenhouse Gases(GHGs), particularly $CO_2$ emissions from fossil fuels. For the international ET to be an effective tool to reduce the global emissions, however, it presupposes that there are no carbon leakage, i.e. Annex I emitters will purchase emission permits if emitting above caps, rather than importing emission-intensive goods from non-Annex I countries thus inducing the foreigners to emit instead. The extent to which a country leaks carbon through trade can be revealed by its bilateral balance of current accounts and related Balance of Emissions Embodied in Trade (BEET) supplemented by Emission Terms of Trade (ETT). Earlier studies on BEET and ETT relied on few selected countries in a partial equilibrium context, Korea being treated as insignificant though she is not a minor emitter. This paper is an attempt to examine BEET in the global CGE framework and to compare its structural difference across countries, with a special emphasis on South Korea.

• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.45-64
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• 2022

Purpose - This paper examines South Korea's potential status as a carbon leakage country, and the level of risk posed by the Korean emissions trading scheme (ETS) for Korean industries. The economic effects of border carbon adjustments (BCAs) to protect energy-intensive Korean industries in the process of achieving the carbon reduction target by 2030 through the Korean ETS are also analyzed. Design/methodology - First, using the Korean Input-Output (IO) table, this paper calculates the balance of emissions embodied in trade (BEET) and the pollution terms of trade (PTT) to determine Korean industries' carbon leakage status. Analyses of the risk level posed by carbon reduction policy implementation in international trade are conducted for some sectors by applying the EU criteria. Second, using a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, three BCA scenarios, exemption regulations (EXE), reimbursement (REB), and tariff reduction (TAR) to protect the energy-intensive industries under the Korean ETS are addressed. Compared to the baseline scenario of achieving carbon reduction targets by 2030, the effects of BCAs on welfare, carbon leakage, outputs, and trading are analyzed. Findings - As Korea's industrial structure has been transitioning from a carbon importing to a carbon leaking country. The results indicate that some industrial sectors could face the risk of losing international competitiveness due to the Korean ETS. South Korea's industries are basically exposed to risk of carbon leakage because most industries have a trade intensity higher than 30%. This could be interpreted as disproving vulnerability to carbon leakage. Although the petroleum and coal sector is not in carbon leakage, according to BEET and PTT, the Korean ETS exposes this sector to a high risk of carbon leakage. Non-metallic minerals and iron and steel sectors are also exposed to a high risk of carbon leakage due to the increased burden of carbon reduction costs embodied in the Korean ETS, despite relatively low levels of trade intensity. BCAs are demonstrated to have an influential role in protecting energy-intensive industries while achieving the carbon reduction target by 2030. The EXE scenario has the greatest impact on mitigation of welfare losses and carbon leakage, and the TAF scenario causes a disturbance in the international trade market because of the pricing adjustment system. In reality, the EXE scenario, which implies completely exempting energy-intensive industries, could be difficult to implement due to various practical constraints, such as equity and reduction targets and other industries; therefore, the REB scenario presents the most realistic approach and appears to have an effect that could compensate for the burden of economic activities and emissions regulations in these industries. Originality/value - This paper confirms the vulnerability of the Korean industrial the risk of carbon leakage, demonstrating that some industrial sectors could be exposed to losing international competitiveness by implementing carbon reduction policies such as the Korean ETS. The contribution of this paper is the identification of proposed approaches to protect Korean industries in the process of achieving the 2030 reduction target by analyzing the effects of BCA scenarios using a CGE model.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.333-343
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• 2017

Across the world, building energy codes are becoming stricter, demanding higher levels of energy performance with each issuance. Some locations have taken initiatives to eliminate operational emissions altogether by requiring buildings to be carbon neutral. However, while the objectives of carbon neutrality are without doubt statement worthy, we believe that once operational performance has been tackled to a reasonable level of performance the sights should be trained on a different objective-life; cycle carbon. This paper defines what we mean by life cycle carbon neutrality and presents an approach toward reducing it.