‘The numbers don’t lie. To keep global warming at tolerable levels, the building industry has to change—radically and rapidly. That’s the message of a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The Global Status Report 2017 sounds a red alert: “near-zero-energy, zero-emissions buildings need to become the construction standard globally within the next decade” to ensure average temperatures rise no more than 2°C. Energy retrofits also need to become much more common.
The building sector is responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions, according to the report. That includes embodied carbon of building materials, and it makes the building sector the single largest contributor to global warming.’
Image: United Nations Environment Programme, 2017, Global Status Report 2017: Towards a zero-emission, efficient, and resilient buildings and construction sector.
Read more: Urgent: Zero-Carbon Buildings Needed | BuildingGreen
