Decarbonizing the Built Environment
We need to achieve net-zero across the full building lifecycle by 2050 to avert climate catastrophe
In 2021 the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change set a total remaining global “carbon budget” of 400 gigatons. If we can stay under that limit in emissions through the end of the decade, we can keep global warming to under 1.5 degrees, the point beyond which experts think effects will be catastrophic. Currently, we emit roughly 40 gigatons every year, meaning that we have less than 10 years to act, and the built environment contributes 14 gigatons of carbon each year, making it responsible for 40% of global emissions. To meet the targets, we need to cut those emissions from the built world in half by 2030 and achieve net zero across the full building lifecycle by 2050, according to Roland Hunziker, Director of the Built Environment at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Hunziker shares work his organization has done with Arup to create six model whole-life carbon case studies, and shares important progress toward these goals by Arup, Ramboll, and the Nordic Real Estate Partnership. As Hunziker points out, the building projects that we’ll completing in 2030 are on the drawing board today, so the time to act is now.
About the speaker
Roland Hunziker is Director of the Built Environment at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He is a business and sustainability professional with broad background in consulting, humanitarian work, environmental and industry issues, and international project management. He is co-chair of the Steering Committee of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) and holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD.
Related learning
Learn more about decarbonization for the built world with these related AU sessions:
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Explore the best available technologies and the frameworks required for infrastructure construction to achieve net zero by 2050. We'll examine a research paper to identify risks and opportunities and imagine the likely changes we’ll see on construction sites within the next 10 years.
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