Energy Transitions Commission has officially published results from its latest report named Achieving Zero-Carbon Buildings: Electric, Efficient and Flexible, which provides readers with a comprehensive view of buildings sector’s emissions and energy use.
Going by the available details, this particular report also describes how a combination of electric, efficient and flexible solutions can decarbonize buildings, improve standards of living, and reduce energy bills, if supported by ambitious policy.
To understand the significance of such a development, we must take into account how global buildings sector currently contributes almost a third of greenhouse gas emissions (12.3 GtCO2 in 2022). These emissions emerge from the use of fossil fuels for heating, cooling, cooking, lighting, powering appliances, as well as constructing residential and commercial buildings.
In a bid to address the given concerns, ETC’s report issues three key priorities that can tread up a long distance to conceive what would be a zero-carbon dioxide emissions buildings sector.
Talk about these priorities on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the upstaging of fossil fuels with electrification. As of today, gas and oil heating accounts for 8% of global emissions, or 3 GtCO2. Hence, switching to cost-effective electric and efficient technologies, such as heat pumps and electric hobs, can significantly aid the continued decarbonization of electricity generation.
In fact, several projections currently predict electricity to handle 80% of all responsibility in powering buildings across the board. Assuming electricity supply is decarbonized by then, this switch could bring annual emissions from building use close to zero.
The next priority in line relates to dramatically improving energy efficiency. With the use of air conditioners rising and the electrification of heating and cooking, the demand for electricity is set to grow by three times. This means, in a concrete sense, growing from 12,800 TWh to around 35,000 TWh by 2050, if energy efficiency is not simultaneously increased.
Having said so, the stated uptick can be reduced to around 18,500 TWh through improvements in the technical efficiency of heat pumps, air conditioners, and other appliances.
The same objective can also be pursued using improvements in the energy efficiency of both new and existing buildings. These improvements can be achieved with a range of so-called “passive heating and cooling” building design techniques, such as insulation and painting roofs in hot countries.
Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in the prospect of constructing efficient and low-carbon buildings. At present, construction of new buildings makes up for about 7% of global emissions a year, or 2.5 GtCO2. If the average carbon intensity of construction remains unchanged, this expansion would result in a cumulative 75 GtCO2 emissions between now and 2050.
However, the stated emissions can be reduced to around 30 GtCO2 by decarbonizing the production of steel, cement, concrete, and other building materials, while simultaneously using fewer materials in building construction via lightweight design and modular construction or using less carbon-intensive materials such as timber.
Apart from that, utilizing existing buildings via extended building lifetimes and shared working spaces can also offer a viable way moving forward.
“Unless we can radically decarbonize buildings we will fail to keep global warming under 1.5°C outlined in the Paris Accord. To do that we need to make changes all the way through design, delivery and operation of buildings – from electrification of heating and passive cooling, to reducing embodied carbon emissions for new buildings and refurbishments.” said Stephen Hill, Sustainability and Building Performance Expert, Arup. “This will require collaboration right across sector, between governments, industry bodies and private companies. We need to be ambitious, but if we get it right we can cut carbon, and generate value for our economy.”
