Euroviews. Our built world is the biggest contributor to green house gas emissions. Here's how to change that

Another month, another climate record topples. February saw global air temperatures break records, while sea surface temperatures were also at the highest ever recorded, according to scientists at the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Meanwhile, the world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy continued to rise in 2023.

The physical consequences of climate change — storms, floods, fires, extreme heat — are affecting communities rich and poor across the planet. Real estate and the buildings around us are on the frontline of this challenge.

The built world is the biggest contributor to global GHG emissions, with 37% of their total. 

Building owners and investors are beginning to wake up to the scale of the problem but change will not happen quickly enough, without intervention from policy markets. 

Yet, in truth, just five areas must be prioritised to make progress in decarbonising real estate.

The world’s carbon dioxide emissions from energy rose yet again in 2023, underlining the difficulty we face in switching to renewable energy sources. 

If we are to achieve this transition, we urgently need to power up the grid, creating better energy storage and smarter trading to reliably access renewable energy. This means investing in advanced storage solutions, with renewable sources and smart grid tech to improve grid resilience and capacity.

It’s true that the European energy crisis, triggered by the war in Ukraine, has catalysed interest from VC investors in building efficiency, electrification and grid solutions. 

However, much greater investment will be needed to build a grid fit for the future. Real estate owners will play an important role because their physical estate can help to generate and store energy.

From fitting solar