Infrastructure

As central features of human life, buildings furnish space in which to dwell, gather, labor, trade, make, learn, heal, and revel. They generally persist for decades, if not centuries. Already the world has more than 230 billion square meters of building space. Billions more square meters could be added this decade. Buildings also use more than half of all electricity, creating an off-site, upstream impact on electricity-generation emissions [1].

It’s no surprise that buildings are major drivers of greenhouse gas emissions. Some stem from the materials that comprise buildings and the process of construction, renovation, or demolition—what’s known as “embodied carbon.” Many more are the result of ongoing use. Fuels are burned on site, primarily to heat space or water or for cooking. The chemicals used for cooling and refrigeration can escape as emissions.

Summary

The gases used as refrigerants today are potent greenhouse gases. We can reduce emissions by managing leaks that often happen within buildings, as well as properly disposing of refrigerants (a waste process that falls under industry, above). Ultimately, these fluorinated gases can be replaced with alternatives.

Many building solutions reduce on-site emissions and enhance electricity efficiency, reducing emissions at the power plant. Taken together, these solutions can transition buildings from being a major problem to potentially being net positive, as the “greenest” buildings can produce more energy than they consume. These solutions can also help ease the “energy burden” many low-income households face as energy bills eat up a significant and disproportionate percentage of income.

Addressing CFCs

References

[1] IPCC, 2023: Sections. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647