With the growing awareness about carbon emission sources, the attention is now increasing towards lowering the embodied carbon which amounts to 11% of the annual global emissions. As operational emissions have decreased with increased renewables and energy efficiency measures, embodied carbon, which until now has remained hidden further down the supply chain, has become the biggest climate problem from buildings. WorldGBC has issued a bold new vision of

1. By 2030, reducing embodied carbon in new constructions by 40%
2. By 2050, achieving net zero embodied carbon in new constructions

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While achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions by 2050 is realistic, it needs concentrated effort. Three key areas which will be crucial in achieving this are: scaling up technologies that help us reduce carbon emissions (from renewable energy generation to carbon capture and storage), policy changes incentivizing said technologies and generating demand for them.

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The Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities is set to invest DKK 128 million in the construction of two large-scale electrolysis plants, in hopes that the country’s surplus of green energy can be used to facilitate hydrogen production. It expects to do away with fossil fuel by 2050 and rely on renewable energy completely.

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The Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Damien English, T.D., has called on the construction industry to be prepared for the revised building regulations that apply to all new dwellings commencing construction from 1st November 2019 subject to transitional arrangements. The new regulations aim to make all new residential dwellings 70% more energy efficient and emit 70% less carbon dioxide than the performance requirements in 2005.

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While building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) has been commercially available for use since the 1990s, we are finally seeing them playing a larger role in the construction business. Evolving regulations in leading jurisdictions like California and Germany are driving the BIPV. Incorporating solar generation in commercial building materials may finally become a mainstream practice, with both solar windows and solar panels used to create net-zero buildings.

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Almost all our remaining carbon budget as defined by the Paris Agreement will be depleted by emissions from current, under construction and operational infrastructure. It doesn’t take into account – new industrial & power infrastructure and growing urbanization and population. Hence, while continuing to build out clean and renewable sources of energy at even greater speed, the commercialization of clean energy technologies, particularly carbon capture and storage (CCS), will be key to significantly and quickly reduce emissions from hard-to-abate industrial sectors and power plants.

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A building’s overall embodied carbon is inextricably linked to the composition of the products from which it is built. Manufacturing of materials like steel, concrete, aluminum, and glass for use in building construction accounts for 11% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The following products feature admirably carbon smart formulations that are largely available in the market today.

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Respirer Living Sciences, a startup founded in Mumbai, has built a real-time IoT-based air quality monitoring device that can measure particulate matter, temperature, and humidity.  Monitoring the air quality helps in identifying the trouble spots and assists in identifying the correct measures to be taken to rectify it.

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With the ramp up in the production of Model 3 resulting in Tesla posting quarterly profits again, Elon Musk hinted at ramping up the solar and energy storage business of Tesla. He has claimed that Tesla Energy will be a huge part of Tesla’s activity in the future.

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Circulytics is a digital measuring tool which gives companies a fully comprehensive picture of their circularity across all operations. At a time when companies around the globe are adopting the circular economy as an opportunity to create thriving businesses that meet the challenges of global issues such as climate change and pollution, Circulytics provides quick understanding for those actively moving away from the current ‘take, make, waste’ linear economy.

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Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. It is now committing to reach 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030 on its path to net zero carbon by 2040. Also, Amazon is launching the Right Now Climate Fund, committing $100 million to restore and protect forests, wetlands, and peatlands around the world in partnership with The Nature Conservancy.

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Nexity, a French company that focuses on real estate development and the provision of related services, announced the issuance of its first green bond worth €240 million to qualified investors. This Green Bond fits within the Group’s CSR policy, the fight against global warming and the contribution to the transition to a low-carbon economy, in line with Nexity’s ambitious target of a 30% reduction in tonnes of CO2 eq. per home delivered by 2030.

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