Building sector emissions hit a record high in 2019, but low-carbon pandemic recovery packages provide an opportunity to transform the sector and rapidly cut emissions, finds the latest Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction from the Global Alliance for Building and Construction.
The report found that that while global building energy consumption remained steady year-on-year, energy-related CO2 emissions increased to 9.95 GtCO2 in 2019. This increase was due to a shift away from the direct use of coal, oil and traditional biomass towards electricity, which had a higher carbon content due to the high proportion of fossil fuels used in generation.
When adding emissions from the building construction industry on top of operational emissions, the sector accounted for 38%of total global energy-related CO2 emissions.
To get on track to net-zero carbon building stock by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that direct building CO2 emissions need, by 2030, to fall by 50 per cent and indirect building sector emissions by 60 per cent. This equates to building sector emissions falling by around 6 per cent per year until 2030, close to the 7 per cent decrease in 2020 global energy sector CO2 emissions due to the pandemic.
GlobalABC urge governments to prioritize low-carbon buildings in pandemic stimulus packages and updated climate pledges within their pandemic recovery packages.
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