Buildings and Climate Change

Authors

Ahmi Dhuna
Katrina M. Wyman, New York University School of LawFollow

Files

Description

This chapter focuses on the relationship between buildings and climate change, in particular the contributions that buildings make to planetary warming from greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2019, buildings contributed 21 percent of global GHG emissions, with most building emissions coming from building operations. While GHG emissions are not an inherent feature of buildings, building developers, owners, and occupants currently lack sufficient incentives to decarbonize buildings on their own. This chapter identifies examples of government policies from around the world intended to spur reductions in GHG emissions from building operations and emissions embodied in building materials. It emphasizes that decarbonizing buildings requires decarbonizing other sectors, most notably electricity generation. In addition, some of the steps taken to reduce building emissions, such as increasing energy efficiency, will facilitate decarbonizing other sectors, such as electricity generation, by reducing buildings’ demand for energy.

First Page

456

DOI

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035339518.00029

Source Publication

Research Handbook on Climate Change and Infrastructure Law

Source Editors/Authors

Romany M. Webb

Publication Date

11-20-2024

Publisher

Edward Elgar Publishing

Recommended Citation

Ahmi Dhuna & Katrina M. Wyman, Buildings and Climate Change, Research Handbook on Climate Change and Infrastructure Law 456 (2024).
Available at: https://gretchen.law.nyu.edu/fac-chapt/2172