Energy demand for space cooling has increased more than twice as fast as the overall energy demand in buildings over the last decade. Higher temperatures caused by climate change, coupled with increasing incomes and growing populations, are driving rapid growth in residential air conditioning (AC) ownership. However, the rapid growth of AC is putting stress on the power grid, whilst exacerbating the adverse impact of space cooling on GHG emissions, local air pollution, power outages, urban heat island effects, energy poverty, and physiological acclimatisation.

This analysis examines available technical and policy response measures that are a win-win: they can ensure that lower income households are not left behind, and that growth in space cooling does not cause harm to the climate and health.

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This issue of Danfoss's white papers looks at all the energy that is currently wasted across sectors in the form of excess heat that could otherwise be reused. With the energy squeeze the world is facing, the authors of this white paper hope that this will be the moment that recycling waste heat becomes the norm.

Download the white paper here.

A new report commissioned by IIGCC highlights how investors are considering buildings emissions using a ‘whole life carbon’ approach, drawing on research and case studies from experts and industry leaders.

In a world where embodied carbon is invisible, investors can make investment and sustainability decisions that may be unwittingly harming the environment. This is why leading members of IIGCC’s Real Estate Working Group are moving on the topic: “wait and see” is no longer an option. This report documents IIGCC’s series of roundtables hosted in 2022, providing “best practices” and examples from the series, where experts and leading investors explained how they are incorporating embodied carbon into their measurements and target setting.

Download the report here.

In this publication - State of Finance for Nature in Cities 2023: Time to Assess - Summary for Local Policymakers, developed as an addendum to the 2022 SFN report, UNEP and the Penn Institute for Urban Research seek to take stock of urban NbS investments, outline gaps and opportunities for NbS financing in cities, and map out best practices from cities around the world.

The SFN in Cities also illustrates actions that local governments, financial stakeholders, private sector, and knowledge partners can take to scale up investments for nature in cities.

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The technology and financing solutions needed to decarbonize the global building stock are available today. However, to truly realize a sustainable transformation, equity needs to be at the heart of the transition toward net-zero-carbon buildings, whether through addressing fuel poverty, investing in marginalized communities, upgrading infrastructure, or reducing costs to support greater clean energy access for marginalized communities. Now is the time for policies and programs to push forward an agenda that enables the decarbonization transition toward an equitable built environment.

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After two years of disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the year 2022 saw a gradual return to normalcy, combined with an increase in GlobalABC's activities, visibility, and outreach. The GlobalABC community has achieved several milestones in 2022, laying the foundational work for the coming years. The urgency of climate action in the buildings and construction sector has received heightened attention in major fora, national and sub-national actors and private sector are stepping up their action, and the GlobalABC is recognised as the international platform that gathers the multitude of buildings and construction stakeholders. 

In 2022, we continued to be a global advocate for the importance of the sector for global climate action (active participation in high-level events such as the COP27 with a Buildings Pavilion and through the BuildingToCOP Coalition, growth in membership, Annual Assembly and Steering Committee meeting); to provide a neutral and trusted platform to set targets for decarbonisation (2022 Buildings-GSR, UNFCCC MPGCA Human Settlements Pathway, flagship study and campaign on embodied carbon, Sustainable Building Materials Hub); and to provide the key measures for countries to adopt, helping them set priorities in their own strategies, based on their situation (Buildings Breakthrough target, roadmaps launched and Roadmaps Coordination Hub, NDC frontrunner criteria and tool), among so many other achievements.

Read our narrative report to learn more!

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR6 on Climate Mitigation provides an updated global assessment of climate change mitigation progress and pledges, and examines the sources of global emissions. It explains developments in emission reduction and mitigation efforts, assessing the impact of national climate pledges in relation to long-term emissions goals.

Download the chapter on Buildings here.

This report provides insight into strategies and measures companies can deploy to halve embodied carbon emissions, those associated with building materials and construction processes, by 2030. It analyzes how to use and adapt currently available technology, materials and products to reduce emissions as much as possible.

The first part of the report explores early-stage, whole-building decisions and the major impact these can have on the carbon outcome of a particular building project. The second part looks in more detail at the specific choices and measures companies might apply within the individual building layers to maximize embodied carbon reductions.

The report authors call on companies throughout the built environment to implement systemic changes to achieve the shared goal of at least halving carbon emissions by 2030. We need this systemic change now, as we are already planning the infrastructure that will be built in 2030. For the built environment, 2030 is today.

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With the world in the midst of the first global energy crisis – triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine – the World Energy Outlook 2022 (WEO) provides indispensable analysis and insights on the implications of this profound and ongoing shock to energy systems across the globe.

Based on the latest energy data and market developments, this year’s WEO explores key questions about the crisis: Will it be a setback for clean energy transitions or a catalyst for greater action? How might government responses shape energy markets? Which energy security risks lie ahead on the path to net zero emissions?

The WEO is the energy world’s most authoritative source of analysis and projections. This flagship publication of the IEA has appeared every year since 1998. Its objective data and dispassionate analysis provide critical insights into global energy supply and demand in different scenarios and the implications for energy security, climate targets and economic development.

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Energy Efficiency 2022 is the IEA’s primary annual analysis on global developments in energy efficiency markets and policy. It explores recent trends in energy intensity, demand and efficiency-related investment, innovation, policy and technology while also discussing key questions facing policy makers. 

This year record-high consumer energy bills and securing reliable access to supply are urgent political and economic imperatives for almost all governments. In response to the energy crisis countries are prioritising energy efficiency action due to its ability to simultaneously meet affordability, supply security and climate goals.

While efficiency investment has recently been increasing to reach new record levels, the pace of global energy intensity improvements had noticeably slowed in the second half of the last decade and virtually stalled during the first two years of Covid-19. With efforts to better manage energy consumption as a result of the crisis increasing the rate of improvement once more, the question as to whether 2022 will see a sustained efficiency turning point, and what more can be done, are key themes of this year’s report.