Climate Mitigation and Housing
The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024/2025, published by the UN Environment Program, estimated that in 2023 the global buildings and construction sector emitted the equivalent of just under 12 gigatonnes of CO2, around a third of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately 60% of these building-related emissions come from residential dwellings, and the other 40% from commercial and industrial buildings. In other words housing, what we all do, accounts for about 20% of all global emissions. These emissions have stayed pretty much the same since at least 2015 - to avoid the worst of climate change they should be coming down. This section of the site explores ways to reduce these emissions.
It’s easiest to reduce the footprint of a building at the design and construction stage. In the building process you would be thinking about three things.
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The design - how much energy is this home designed to use once someone is living in it?
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The materials - what is the lifecycle carbon footprint of the materials you are planning to use?
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How energy-intensive is the building process?
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Reduced emissions from energy use in a home is the most important factor in reducing its overall carbon footprint, and also has the benefit of reducing your tenants’ energy costs.
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Although energy-efficiency measures are easiest to implement in new housing, you can also make significant improvements by refitting existing housing.
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Along with making homes as energy-efficient as possible, the other major way you can make your housing more climate-friendly is by helping your tenants to access renewable energy. The most popular and straightforward way of doing this is by installing solar panels on the roofs of your dwellings, although there are also other solutions. ​
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Here's a collection of stories about ways to reduce the climate impact of our homes, including some 'real world' examples and summaries of important pieces of research.
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