The construction and operation of buildings accounted for more than a third of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions last year, a new UN report reveals.
Emissions resulting from keeping global residential and non-residential buildings running, as well as the construction of new buildings, made up 38 per cent of total global energy-related CO2 emissions, it says.
Meanwhile, emissions solely from the operation of buildings hit their highest-ever level in 2019 – just under 10 gigatonnes, or 28 per cent of total global energy-related CO2 emissions.
The report, from the UN s Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), says there s an urgent need for CO2 emissions from the building sector to be curbed to keep in line with targets on climate change.
Architecture news & editorial desk
When nature meets design, living architecture happens. There is an emerging trend in the architectural industry to create buildings that integrate nature into the design, producing a living, thriving masterpiece.
Atlassian’s new global headquarters, coming soon to Central station with gardens that blur the separation between indoor and outdoor spaces or the Southbank by Beulah in Melbourne, featuring a green spine twisting up the tower façades are just some of the projects where the concepts of living architecture are being put to good use.
While architects have been introducing foliage and vegetation into buildings through green walls, green roofs and green facades over the past few years, what was once a niche element in building design, has now gone mainstream. Integrating nature into the fabric of buildings is the future of our cities because we recognise we need nature to be part of our daily lives.