Emissions from buildings reached an all time high in 2021, says UN

Carbon emissions from buildings hit an all-time high last year after recovering from the Covid lockdowns of 2020, despite a global increase in energy efficiency investment.

The new report from the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction says this upsurge in emissions has knocked the sector off track to decarbonise by 2050, and current efforts to install energy efficiency measures aren’t going far or fast enough.

In 2021, investments in building energy efficiency increased by 16 per cent to $237 billion, but other trends worked against these gains. For example, the ratio of floor space to energy use outpaced these efforts. In addition, the growth of renewable energy was “modest” at best, while emerging economies increased their use of fossil fuels for heating. As a result, this sector’s energy demand increased by around 4 per cent from 2020, the largest increase in the last 10 years.

The buildings sector represents 40 per cent of Europe’s energy demand, with 80 per cent of it from fossil fuels. This makes the sector an area for immediate action, with opportunities including improving existing building efficiency, integrating renewables, and using efficient lighting and equipment.

The report says that investments in energy efficiency must be sustained in the face of growing crises – such as the war in Ukraine and the ensuing energy crisis, and the cost-of-living crisis – to reduce energy demand, avoid carbon emissions and dampen energy cost volatility.

Decarbonising the buildings sector by 2050 is critical to delivering these cuts. To reduce overall emissions, the sector must improve building energy performance, decrease building materials’ carbon footprint, multiply policy commitments alongside action and increase investment in energy efficiency.

Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, commented: “The solution may lie in governments directing relief towards low and zero-carbon building investment activities through financial and non-financial incentives.”