In她的演讲before the United Nations in September 2019, Greta Thunberg called out the assembled world leaders for their stubborn adherence to the status quo in the face of an escalating climate crisis. "How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just business as usual?" she said.

也许没有哪个部门更好地说明了这种需要比建筑部门做更多的事情。国际能源机构最近发现,到2050年,我们可以削减87%的温室气体排放from buildings by pairing energy efficiency with clean electricity technologies that are already available. That puts us well within reach of what science tells us is necessary to stabilize the climate: reaching net-zero emissions by the middle of this century.

Yet, fewer than 1% of buildings are zero carbon today.

We are confronted with a paradox, then: The single best means to fight climate change cheaply while improving human health and productivity is the same sector lagging the pack. Technical solutions abound for the building sector. But to break the status quo, we also need grander ambitions and the belief we can do it. Broader awareness that zero carbon buildings are viable, flexible and affordable right now can help industry and policymakers get out of the current rut.

Buildings Are a Massive, Cheap Climate Solution

Buildings represent近40%与全球能源相关的二氧化碳排放量的数量远远超过整个运输部门。在到2030年可能的所有排放量中,建筑物是迄今为止的最大的低成本减少来源。实际上,Rocky Mountain Institute's research发现即使是气候科学,也被广泛低估了自然日光和通风等建筑效率的投资。必威官网是真的吗

建筑物领域的脱碳机会加起来大致相同of emissions reductions opportunities in agriculture, industry, energy supply and forestry combined. In addition, because buildings are long-lived assets, averaging 40 to 100 years of life, their emissions are "locked in" for longer than emissions from most vehicles, power plants or other forms of heavy infrastructure. So it's doubly important to make the shift to zero-carbon buildings now.

What's troubling is that headwinds have intensified. Emissions from buildings are set to到2050年双倍,而不是掉落。这是由于因素的组合造成的:能源效率的增长速度降低,从3%的年改善到1.3%,以及对世界各地的地板空间的日益增长的需求。就像您选择在设置为短跑速度的跑步机上慢跑一样。我们从赛道上摔下来。

工人隔离中国的一栋建筑物。良好的绝缘,空气质量和照明削减建筑物的能源使用,并且还可以改善居住者的健康状况。Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Flickr的照片
工人隔离中国的一栋建筑物。良好的绝缘,空气质量和照明削减建筑物的能源使用,并且还可以改善居住者的健康状况。Pacific Northwest National Laboratory/Flickr的照片

Crucially, improved buildings deliversubstantial societal benefits。通过改善室内空气质量和照明,绿色建筑改善了health of their occupants and neighbors。尽管节能本身是有价值的,但在等式中增加公共卫生,使零碳建筑物是良好的投资更清楚的。有效的供暖和绝缘材料可以改善健康状况的价值可能是10 times greaterthan the value of a building's energy savings. Better buildings can also reduce the cost of living, spur economic development, make public service provision cheaper and more. What's more, WRI research shows that zero carbon building policies are已经可行了in multiple markets and climates.

Zero Carbon Buildings Aren't Just for the Rich

Despite all of this opportunity, here we are. Behind and trailing ever further back. It's evident that the buildings sector needs a shot in the arm. Beyond awareness, what's missing is political ambition and financing to drive market change.

The private sector has the technology and know-how to deliver net-zero carbon buildings, and companies want to make progress. For example, in June 2019, the American Institute of Architects voted "绝大多数" to call on its 94,000 global members to "exponentially accelerate the decarbonization of buildings, the building sector, and the built environment." But the private sector needs clear and compelling signals from policymakers and building owners that will unlock finance and enable market change on a much bigger scale.

这款在泰国的乐购莲花是亚洲的第一家零碳商店。建筑物为廉价减少温室气体排放提供了很大的机会。Tesco PLC/Flickr的照片
这款在泰国的乐购莲花是亚洲的第一家零碳商店。建筑物为廉价减少温室气体排放提供了很大的机会。Tesco PLC/Flickr的照片

大致70%的国家2050年的气候承诺必威官网是真的吗提到建筑物,只有46个征服了与建筑有关的特定政策,这使得这是增加国家野心的丰富领域。不到三分之一的国家 /地区拥有强制性的建筑能源法规或认证,只有18个国家针对现有建筑物的代码。

At the recent UN Climate Action Summit, WRI with Propel Energy Partners helped launch a multi-partner, multi-year initiative called所有人的零碳建筑物打算传达绿色建筑不仅是技术先进或富裕国家的领域。该倡议将利用政府,工业和公民社会的联合领导来推动政策抱负,以及更多的融资,因此实际上可以实现项目。不仅仅是竞选或声明,所有人的零碳建筑都将为准备到2050年脱碳的政府提供直接援助。

We invite governments, financial institutions, and corporations or design firms to commit to the decarbonization of buildings in different ways:

  • 国家政府,通过签署意图陈述以创建零碳建筑政策的路线图(邀请城市政府签署世界绿色建筑委员会的姐姐净零碳建筑承诺).
  • 金融机构,by providing expert input and technical assistance to policy roadmaps to unlock flows of finance, with an aim of hitting $1 trillion mobilized by 2030.
  • 公司和公司,by providing expert input and creating effective frameworks for cost-effective industry change (corporations that own a great deal of real estate can commit to decarbonize their buildings via the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment).

登录零碳建筑的国家将获得从本地和国际专家网络制定国家政策路线图和行动计划的技术支持。全球环境设施已表示他们打算提供第一批资金。邀请工业化国家致力于其自己的建筑部门的脱碳化,并特别鼓励在发展中国家的经济上支持实施。

National leadership together with private sector innovation: that's how we break the status quo and turn the climate paradox that is the buildings sector today into the leading climate solution it ought to be.