Zero-Carbon Buildings in Cities
We all know that addressing energy use in buildings alone will not be enough to achieve net zero.
We need to tackle embodied emissions, which already account for about 11% of global energy related emissions.
These are the emissions embedded in building materials and systems, from cement and steel to glass and insulation.
But how do we make addressing embodied emissions a common practice?
The OECD report on Zero-Carbon Buildings in Cities shows that countries and cities are approaching it in very different ways.
I looked at the different best practices highlighted in the report…
And selected 5 ways to tackle embodied emissions:
➡️ Regulation-based: Carbon limits and mandatory assessments
– France introduced RE2020, requiring life-cycle assessments and phased carbon limits.
– Sweden now mandates climate declarations for all new buildings before permits are approved.
➡️ Incentive-based: Subsidies to reward low-carbon construction
– Vancouver (Canada) launched NearZero, a subsidy program that rewards projects cutting embodied carbon and using high-performance design.
➡️Data-based: National databases that drive transparency
– Netherlands created a national database of materials with verified carbon values. If manufacturers don’t provide EPDs, their products are assigned higher default emissions, pushing industry toward disclosure.
➡️Partnership-based: Public–private roadmaps for climate-neutral sectors
– Malmö (Sweden) launched a public–private platform uniting developers, contractors, architects, and the city government to make the construction sector climate-neutral by 2030.
➡️ Multi-stakeholder governance:
– Denmark uses a multi-stakeholder roadmap process where government, academia, and industry all contribute to setting their own thresholds thus driving industry towards innovation
There’s no one-size-fits-all. Obviously!
Source:
Temukan peta dengan kualitas terbaik untuk gambar peta indonesia lengkap dengan provinsi.
