The property industry has a huge carbon footprint. Here’s how to reduce it
Some buildings should be retrofitted, others torn down
Buildings have a dirty secret: they are among the planet’s worst climate offenders. Heating, cooling and powering existing offices, homes and factories accounts for 27% of global energy-related carbon-dioxide emissions. Constructing new ones involves mountains of steel and colossal amounts of cement, and combined with demolition accounts for another 10% of the global CO2 emitted each year. Building debris generates a third of the European Union’s annual waste by weight.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Constructive improvements”
Leaders June 18th 2022
- The tricky restructuring of global supply chains
- Latin America’s vicious circle is a warning to the West
- The Fed and the ECB turn on a dime
- The EU should declare Ukraine a candidate for membership
- The property industry has a huge carbon footprint. Here’s how to reduce it
- Britain’s bill to rip up the Northern Ireland protocol is a terrible idea
From the June 18th 2022 edition
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