With the development of a low-carbon economy, zero-energy structures will become prevalent and take center stage in the construction industry. This paper uses the CiteSpace software to create knowledge maps of authors, institutions and keywords, and then examined and commented on research publications regarding zero-energy buildings in order to understand the research state and development trends of zero-energy buildings. The findings demonstrate that: (1) Since its inception in 2000, research on zero-energy buildings has advanced significantly; (2) A subject analysis approach is used to identify development trends and research emphasis, and the four research areas with the most papers published are energy fuels, construction building technology, civil engineering and green sustainable science technology; (3) China, the United States and Italy are the countries with the most activity in zero-energy building research; (4) Out of the eight most prominent keywords for the study subjects, the design of zero-energy buildings, the estimation of the carbon emissions of zero-energy buildings, the technical challenges of zero-energy buildings and the follow-up energy-saving measures of zero-energy buildings are the four fundamental topics covered in the most cited papers; (5) There are three obstacles to the development of zero-carbon buildings: unclear standards, immature technology and insufficient development momentum. The following three problems should receive more attention in the future: how to develop a widely accepted zero-carbon building standard; how to coordinate national support to achieve technological breakthroughs; and the establishment of an effective incentive mechanism at the international and national levels to promote the development of zero-carbon buildings.

Based on the theory of planned behavior, this research examines the influence of different types of information on the behavioral intentions of college students in the context of perceived behavioral control (perceived self-efficacy and perceptual control) as mediating variables. The results showed that: (1) Different types of information intervention factors have different effects on perceptual self-efficacy and perceptual control; the influence degree of economic cost has the strongest effect, followed by group pressure, while the influence degree of publicity and education has the weakest effect. However, policy intervention has no statistically significant effect on both of them (perceived self-efficacy and perceptual control). (2) Two variables, perceived self-efficacy and perceptual control, serve as mediators between information intervention factors and energy-saving behavior intention. (3) Individual characteristic factors have significant moderating effects on each path in the model of information intervention–perceived behavior control–intention. Finally, suggestions are made on how to encourage college students to more effectively save energy.

Factors that affect environmentally sustainable travel behavior (or “green travel”) and their mechanisms of action are important to understand to conserve energy and reduce emissions. We constructed a model by integrating the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the pressure-state-response (PSR) model with individual cognition of green travel policies (external pressure) and sensitivity of environmental problems (internal pressure). Then, an empirical study of 796 urban residents in eastern China was conducted. The results show that, with regard to the TPB, attitude has a direct and significant impact on self-practiced and interpersonal intentions, while perceived behavior control has a similar effect on self-practiced green travel intentions. Further, our results also indicate that subjective norms have indirect influence on both self-practiced and interpersonal intentions by affecting attitudes. With regard to the PSR model, urban residents’ cognitions of external and internal pressures affect their green travel intentions in various ways. Based on the results, some relevant policy recommendations aimed at promoting green travel are proposed.

The active promotion of carbon abatement to mitigate global climate change and protect the environment and public health has become the international consensus. The carbon capability is a key index for measuring the potential reduction of the carbon emissions by urban residents, and thus encouraging residents to exhibit normal and autonomous low-carbon behavior has become an important issue. In this study, based on grounded theory, data from in-depth interviews were encoded at three levels to identify the multi-layer factors that drive the carbon capability of urban residents, and we constructed a theoretical model for policy intervention. The results showed that individual factors, organizational factors, social factors, and social demographic variables were the main variables that affected the carbon capability, and utility experience perception was the main intermediary variable that affected the carbon capability. There was an obvious gap between utility experience perception and carbon capability. Low carbon selection cost was an internal situational variable that regulated the relationship between these factors, and the policy situation and technical situation were external situational variables. There were two-way effects on the carbon capability and utility experience perception. Thus, we explored these driving factors and the role of the carbon capability model. The results of this study may facilitate targeted policy thinking and the development of an implementation path for government in order to formulate effective guiding policies to enhance the carbon capability of urban residents.