Greener buildings can tackle climate change

Our modern world depends on buildings and increasingly on smart buildings. However, the world’s millions of buildings are among the main contributors to harmful emissions and climate change. Construction and operation of buildings “account for 36 per cent of global energy use and 39 per cent of energy and process-related carbon dioxide emissions,” according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In Europe, buildings consume more energy and emit more carbon dioxide than any other economic sector.
 

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that to “keep the global temperature rise to 1.5° C compared to pre-industrial times and limit the negative impacts of climate change, the world needs to rapidly cut its emissions of climate-warming greenhouse gases (GHG) to achieve netzero emissions of CO₂ by 2050.”
 

The transition to climate neutrality depends on smart buildings getting even smarter. The built environment must change. The process for designing and constructing new buildings must change. And existing buildings must be renovated at a much faster rate in this race against time. In this trend report, we describe the potential for policy interventions and innovative technologies to mitigate building emissions, support carbon neutrality measures and facilitate green initiatives.
 

Read this white paper, co-created by Signify and Smart Cities World, to discover how policy interventions and innovative technologies can mitigate building emissions, support carbon neutrality measures and facilitate green initiatives.