Research and Application of Carbon Emission Monitoring Technology, Calculation Theory, and Management System

Dear Colleagues,

In the context of global efforts to mitigate climate change and pursue carbon neutrality, the transportation infrastructure sector, as a significant contributor to carbon emissions, faces both unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Against this backdrop, carbon emission monitoring, theoretical calculation, and management systems for transportation infrastructure have emerged as critical areas of research, integrating multidisciplinary approaches to achieve low-carbon development throughout the entire lifecycle of infrastructure projects.

Transportation infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railways, airports, and ports, generates substantial carbon emissions across its lifecycle—from material production, design, and construction to operation, maintenance, and eventual demolition. Addressing these emissions requires innovative technologies, rigorous theoretical frameworks, and efficient management systems. This Topic focuses on advancing knowledge and practices in carbon emission monitoring, calculation, and management. This focus covers a wide-range of disciplines, with a relevance that spans multiple journals. Given its clear emphasis on themes pertaining to the goal of sustainability, such as governance/management mechanisms, standardized accounting frameworks, and lifecycle decision-support tools, this topic in alignment with the focus of journals such as Sustainability, Clean Technologies, and Applied Sciences. It is also worth noting that instrument-centered research (such as that utilizing advanced monitoring equipment and data acquisition technology) is of high relevance for journals such as Sensors or CivilEng, while material-centered work (such as that with a focus on low-carbon material development or emission reduction in material production) is of notable relevance to journals such as Materials or Buildings or Energies.

This Topic aims to provide a comprehensive platform for researchers, engineers, and policymakers to publish original research papers and review articles related to carbon emission monitoring, theoretical calculation, and management in relation to transportation infrastructure. We particularly encourage contributions that delve into governance strategies for emission reduction, the development of unified accounting standards, and decision-support models that optimize lifecycle carbon performance, while also welcoming the submission of interdisciplinary work bridging these areas of priority with relevant technological innovations. Such contributions will foster interdisciplinary dialog and collaboration, driving forward the integration of systemic thinking into low-carbon transportation infrastructure practices.

By bringing together diverse perspectives and cutting-edge research on these pressing issues, this Topic seeks to advance the development and implementation of effective solutions for reducing carbon emissions in transportation infrastructure, ultimately contributing to global climate goals. We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Dr. Yang Ding
Dr. Anming She
Dr. Jingliang Dong
Prof. Dr. Shuangxi Zhou
Prof. Dr. Xiaowei Ye
Dr. Youhua Su
Dr. Tao Jin
Topic Editors