If someone were to ask you about human-caused climate change, then I would think that your first thought wouldn’t be buildings. Buildings, both residential and commercial, also emit a lot of greenhouse gases. We need to heat and cool down the buildings. We are cooking in them. We are using different appliances, and of course, the overall maintenance of the building—everything needs energy. For example, in the U.S., in 2020, buildings accounted for 13% of greenhouse gas emissions. The worst part of this is that a lot of energy that is used for powering buildings goes to waste. For example, in the U.S., 30% of the energy goes to waste on average. Buildings contribute to carbon emissions at many levels. For example, consider how they are built, how they are used, and where they are located. Transporting, assembling, and manufacturing building materials, such as steel, concrete, and wood, also requires energy and accounts for 8% of energy use.
Emissions from buildings, which are usually quantified, are related to a combination of two factors. The first is the daily use of energy, often referred to as “functional carbon emissions” from heating, cooling, and lighting. It should be noted that construction activities account for around 28% of global emissions each year. The second is the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted during the production of building materials, the transport of materials, and the construction process itself, known as the ’embodied carbon dioxide’ of a building, which makes up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide emissions over the whole life cycle of a building. The carbon footprint of buildings accounts for about 11% of global emissions.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, buildings and their construction are responsible for 36% of global energy use and 39% of annual energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. In the U.S., homes and business buildings account for 40% of energy usage, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most of the energy usage comes from air conditioners. They are actually the biggest energy users in your house. It is estimated that there are 1.6 billion A/C units in the world. This number will probably grow even more because the climate is getting warmer. A/C does not only use a lot of energy, but it also contains refrigerants. It is more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, if we compare it molecule by molecule.
Like said earlier, powering the buildings uses a lot of energy and therefore generates a lot of greenhouse gases, but the buildings themselves are also vulnerable to climate change. For example, the impacts include increased rainfall, melting snow and the permafrost, more frequent forest fires, severe storms and flooding, and so on. The construction industry as a whole faces immediate impacts.
Extreme precipitation events can increase construction activity delays and, therefore, costs. Climate change also threatens to change the length of construction periods. Changes in extreme weather events will mean more rebuilding and repair work.
Climate change is expected to lead to more frequent and intense heat waves, especially in southern Europe. To mitigate these extremes, adaptive strategies such as using thermal mass, ventilative cooling, and solar shading can be employed. Additionally, there may be an increase in drought-induced soil subsidence and associated damage to buildings. Europe is also projected to experience rising sea levels and more extreme rainfall, which will heighten the risk of coastal and river flooding. In response, homes and commercial buildings can be adapted to occasional flooding, although in severe cases, relocation may be necessary. The region’s culturally significant buildings will also be affected by climate change, both through extreme events and long-term damage to materials. Europe has a relatively high capacity to adapt, although the impacts and ability to respond may vary between different sub-regions.
In conclusion, there are many ways to make buildings more energy-efficient, but it takes a lot of investment. And at the same time, the human population is growing all the time, and we need a place to live. It is estimated that 2 trillion square meters of buildings will be added worldwide by 2060—the same amount as a new New York City every month for the next 40 years.
Sources:
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/what-are-causes-climate-change#buildings
https://www.intellihot.com/how-do-buildings-contribute-to-climate-change/
https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/system/files/documents/IPCC_AR5__Implications_for_Buildings__Briefing__WEB_EN.pdf
https://archive.curbed.com/2019/9/19/20874234/buildings-carbon-emissions-climate-change
https://www.gatesnotes.com/Buildings-are-good-for-people-and-bad-for-the-climate
