2021 could be a crucial year in the fight against global warming. It’s said that countries only have only a limited time in which to act if the world is to stave off the worst effects of climate change.
In the Paris Accord effected in 2016, world leaders agreed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change by trying to limit global temperature increases to 2C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. The aim was to keep the rise to 1.5C if at all possible.
However, based on current projections, the 1.5C ceiling is expected to be breached within the next 12 years or less and to hit 3C of warming by the end of this century.
The next major conference to address carbon emission issues was scheduled to be held in Glasgow in November 2020 but the pandemic caused this to be deferred until November 2021. One key objective of the next conference will be to have member countries raise their carbon-cutting targets.
The construction industry
In an effort to understand and address global climate change, most analysis has focused on rapidly rising emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and options for reducing such levels. Indeed, carbon dioxide, a by-product of fossil fuel combustion, is the principal greenhouse gas contributing to global warming.
The construction industry has always been a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, taking into account both direct use and embodied energy, the industry consumes about 4.5% of the national total as a consequence of such energy consumption.
Buildings generate nearly 40% of annual global GHG emissions as a result of the construction industry being the UK’s biggest consumer of natural resources. It is estimated that the sector uses 400 million tonnes of material every year, which results in 100 million tonnes of waste being produced. It also generates over 40 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum, all contributing to global warming.
The residential sector
Quite surprisingly, some 40% of the UK’s CO2 emissions come from residential households. This means that residential properties homes have an important part to play in meeting the 2030 emissions reductions in the Fifth Carbon Budget.
Although the average UK home’s carbon footprint has reduced by 4.7 tonnes of CO2 since 1990, the average household in the UK emits 2.7 tonnes of CO2 every year from heating its home
The UK’s per-capita CO2 emissions in 2019 were at 5.3tCO2, above the global average (4.8 in 2018) and India (2.0), but below the EU average (7.0) and the figure for China (7.2) and the US (16.6).
Given that growth in the BtR sector is a relatively recent phenomenon, and that some BtR projects are part of mixed-use developments, it’s difficult to establish just how much of the overall annual CO2 emissions are from BtR and how much from other property sectors.
Yet, BtR is a sector which aims at improving the quality of property product on offer to tenants, which might suggest that comfort will take precedence over environmental concerns.
However, it appears that awareness of the issues regarding CO2 and water issues are at the forefront of major BtR developers plans. This is evidenced by the recent news that Lend Lease, one of the major BtR players, has recently announced its plans to eliminate the use of diesel on its construction sites in Europe, and ensure that all the electricity the company procures is from clean, renewable sources.
The international property and investments group, which has a number of UK BtR schemes underway in London, Manchester and York, has set itself challenging environmental targets, including a commitment to becoming a 1.5°C aligned company and achieving ‘Absolute Zero Carbon’ by 2040. It also released its ‘Roadmap to Absolute Zero Carbon’, which sets out how the business will achieve those targets across Europe.
Some key actions to reduce CO2 contributions and waste
There are several key ways in which the BtR sector of the property industry can help in reducing CO2 emissions and waste.
Some of these include:
The increasing use of renewable energy is directly related to the reducing cost of such renewables and is completely changing attitudes towards decarbonisation.
There is a broad array of accessible and cost-effective technologies and know-how which have not yet been widely adopted, which can abate GHG emissions in buildings to a significant extent. These include passive solar design, high-efficiency lighting and appliances, highly efficient ventilation and cooling systems, solar water heaters, insulation materials and techniques, high-reflectivity building materials and multiple glazing.
The largest savings in energy use (75% or higher) occur in new BtR buildings through designing and operating buildings as complete systems. Actually, obtaining such savings requires an integrated design process involving architects, engineers, contractors and clients, with full consideration of opportunities for passively reducing building energy demands.
Over the whole building stock, the largest portion of carbon savings by 2030 is likely to be by retrofitting existing buildings and replacing energy-using equipment.
As more countries increase their investments in wind, solar and batteries over the next few years, prices are likely to fall even further to a point where they are so cheap it will begin to make commercial sense to close down and replace existing coal and gas power stations.
Most governments know that by scaling up renewables in their own economies, they help to accelerate the energy transition globally, by making renewables even cheaper and more competitive everywhere.
Changing ways existing buildings operate: in the UK, for example, if some of the 1 in 4 homes currently using oil heating and 1 in 3 homes using electric heating switch to a heat pump, there would be a saving of 3.2 tonnes of CO2 per year and 0.8 tonnes of CO2 per year. Furthermore, low-carbon generation could reduce emissions by 79%, saving 1.25 tonnes of CO2 per year for the average home. Also, 1 in 20 homes with a gas boiler could join a heat network, saving 2 tonnes.
Better waste management with processes following the “reduce, reuse and recycle” maxim (the “3Rs”) as the main strategy. Over-ordering is one of the biggest generators of construction waste, so reducing the amount of excess materials bought for a project can clearly reduce waste and costs.
Final thoughts
The UK was the first major economy in the world to make a legally binding net zero commitment in June 2019 and the European Union followed suit in March 2020.
The construction and property industry have always been one of the main negative contributors to climate change, given its high consumption and waste. Indeed, it would be easy for BtR schemes to continue to contribute to the global warming problem given that an overriding philosophy of BtR is to improve the living conditions of prospective tenants by enhancing their general living environment.
However, it is now more widely accepted that this should only be achieved if modern practices relating to CO2 and carbon zero emissions, use of renewable energy and waste management are set as objectives and best practices adopted.
With major developers such as Lend Lease, as mentioned above, leading the way as we move forward, it should be the goal of every BtR scheme to create a net carbon positive development.
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