Posts tagged with 'building efficiency'
India’s Shift to Low-Carbon Construction Must Not Leave Workers Behind
India’s Shift to Low-Carbon Construction Must Not Leave Workers Behind
India aims to reduce the emissions intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. The country can’t achieve either goal without a radical transformation in its buildings and construction sector, which was responsible for around 17% of the nation’s ...
Tracking Climate Action: How the World Can Still Limit Warming to 1.5 Degrees C
Tracking Climate Action: How the World Can Still Limit Warming to 1.5 Degrees C
Today’s climate change headlines often seem at odds with each other. One day, it’s catastrophic wildfires wreaking havoc around the world; the next, it’s an optimistic piece on the rapid scale-up of solar and wind power. Taken together, such stories ...
Developing City Action Plans for Building Decarbonization
Developing City Action Plans for Building Decarbonization
City officials tasked with reducing and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from their communities face a tricky task in estimating building emissions as they work to prevent the most harmful impacts of climate change. The biggest challenge is that there isn’t consensus ...
As the Earth Gets Hotter, Can Our Cities Get Cooler?
As the Earth Gets Hotter, Can Our Cities Get Cooler?
This summer the Northern Hemisphere has been so hot with record temperatures — including at sea — that discussions have turned to the limits of human survival. Even in the Antarctic, sea ice is failing to re-form, a drastic departure ...
5 Priorities for Urban Climate Action in 2023 and Beyond
5 Priorities for Urban Climate Action in 2023 and Beyond
We now have less than seven years to cut emissions in half in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C, the limit scientists say is necessary for averting some of the most dangerous climate impacts. 2022 saw flooding, drought and severe ...
Recalibration, Recommitment, Renewal: Top 10 Posts for 2022
Recalibration, Recommitment, Renewal: Top 10 Posts for 2022
Just as cities were hoping to emerge from two years of a pandemic, 2022 provided a new round of disruption, thanks to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and new economic, political and climate disruption. Oh, and COVID-19 is still here.  This ...
6 Cities and Local Governments Accelerating Zero Carbon Buildings
6 Cities and Local Governments Accelerating Zero Carbon Buildings
While building construction and operations are among the largest contributors to climate change, accounting for nearly 40% of energy-related CO2 emissions globally, they also remain the most cost-effective climate mitigation solution available. Every $1 invested in efficiency saves $2 in ...
5 Takeaways for Decarbonizing Buildings from COP26
5 Takeaways for Decarbonizing Buildings from COP26
For the building and construction sector, COP26 in Glasgow marked a crucial moment to bring consensus around systemic change in the industry. It was the first time in COP history that the Built Environment had a dedicated day, alongside Cities ...
How to Build Smart, Zero Carbon Buildings - and Why it Matters
How to Build Smart, Zero Carbon Buildings – and Why it Matters
Reducing carbon emissions in buildings will be critical to achieving the Paris climate goals and achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Buildings represent 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions, including 28% in operational emissions and 11% in building materials and construction. Global building floorspace ...
Learning from Texas: How Active Efficiency Can Help Improve Grid Reliability and Resilience
Learning from Texas: How Active Efficiency Can Help Improve Grid Reliability and Resilience
Recent events in Texas and elsewhere in the U.S. are reminding us that our existing energy system infrastructure and operating structures are increasingly being challenged by severe weather-related events. In Texas, unprecedented freezing temperatures created a “perfect storm” of disruption, including ...
Climate Action Must Progress Far Faster to Achieve 1.5 C Goal
Climate Action Must Progress Far Faster to Achieve 1.5 C Goal
Countries agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees C (3.6 degrees F) and ideally 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The latest science shows that emissions will need to drop ...
Accelerating Recovery for People Through Building Energy Efficiency
Accelerating Recovery for People Through Building Energy Efficiency
This article originally appeared in Energy Efficiency Magazine as part of a series of responses about energy efficiency’s role in global economic recovery from COVID-19. Energy-efficient buildings are an important key to unlocking recovery from the health and economic crises ...
Local Climate Action in US Proves Resilient to COVID-19
Local Climate Action in US Proves Resilient to COVID-19
In spite of a global pandemic and the worst economic conditions in nearly a century, U.S. states, cities and businesses are continuing to lead the fight against climate change. A new report by America’s Pledge provides crucial evidence that state ...
Europe Charts a Course for Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19
Europe Charts a Course for Sustainable Recovery from COVID-19
On May 27, the European Union unveiled a €750 billion ($826 billion) recovery proposal as a centerpiece of its economic response to the coronavirus crisis, while also increasing its existing budget. EU officials have said that 25% of the stimulus package will be set ...
Resilience After Recession: 4 Ways to Reboot the US Economy
Resilience After Recession: 4 Ways to Reboot the US Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic is already affecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and it’s poised to get worse before it gets better. Our primary concern is for the health and welfare of all those affected. The COVID-19 outbreak’s ...
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