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Carbon emission reduction in the construction industry is crucial for promoting low-carbon transformation of the industry and for realizing the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. This study analyzes the current status of carbon emissions in Chinese construction industry. It identifies that the production of building materials and the operation of buildings are the primary sources of carbon emissions in the overall construction process. Moreover, the growth rate of carbon emissions from the construction industry in China is decelerating, and the spatial characteristics of carbon emissions demonstrate an increase from the south to the north and from the west to the east. We have identified six key challenges that must be addressed to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in the construction industry of China: policy and standards framework, energy-efficient and carbon-reducing technologies, reduction of carbon emissions from existing buildings, carbon emission data collection and monitoring systems, economic incentives, and increased awareness of carbon reduction. Staged goals for the low-carbon development of the construction industry are also proposed. Furthermore, we suggest improving related policies and standards system, optimizing the use of energy-saving technologies, reducing carbon emissions in existing buildings, developing green finance, improving the ability to monitor carbon emissions, and enhancing the awareness of energy conservation and carbon reduction, so as to provide references for the low-carbon transformation and high-quality development of China’s construction industry.

Green building (GB) policies are continuously being launched and adjusted in China to pursue resource conservation and emission reduction. Though reviewing the policy evolution could reveal the industry's historical experience and strategic development concept and contribute to assessing and enhancing the policy system's effectiveness, a comprehensive review of the whole GB policy system is still lacking in China. Consequently, this study examined the evolution of 1083 GB policies in China over the past two decades from the perspectives of policy objectives, policy content, and policy tools through text mining and content analysis, filling the research gap. Results show that GB policy objectives were gradually being quantified and formulated in greater detail, with the foci changed from innovation award and assessment to energy-saving retrofit and prefabrication. Supervision policies were primarily used among seven policy tool categories in recent years. The policy enhancement recommendations were proposed accordingly, supporting policymakers to improve the policy settings, providing real-time orientations for industrial sustainability development, and enlightening other countries to promote GBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: China is one of the countries with the heaviest burden of gastric cancer (GC) in the world. Understanding the epidemiological trends and patterns of GC in China can contribute to formulating effective prevention strategies., Methods: The data on incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) of GC in China from 1990 to 2019 were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study (2019). The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was calculated to evaluate the temporal trends of disease burden of GC, and the package Nordpred in the R program was used to perform an age-period-cohort analysis to predict the numbers and rates of incidence and mortality in the next 25 years., Results: The number of incident cases of GC increased from 317.34 thousand in 1990 to 612.82 thousand in 2019, while the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of GC decreased from 37.56 per 100,000 in 1990 to 30.64 per 100,000 in 2019, with an EAPC of -0.41 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): -0.77, -0.06]. Pronounced temporal trends in mortality and DALYs of GC were observed. In the next 25 years, the numbers of new GC cases and deaths are expected to increase to 738.79 thousand and 454.80 thousand, respectively, while the rates of incidence and deaths should steadily decrease. The deaths and DALYs attributable to smoking were different for males and females., Conclusions: In China, despite the fact that the rates of GC have decreased during the past three decades, the numbers of new GC cases and deaths increased, and will continue to increase in the next 25 years. Additional strategies are needed to reduce the burden of GC, such as screening and early detection, novel treatments, and the prevention of risk factors., (Copyright © 2021 Chinese Journal of Cancer Research. All rights reserved.)