Realistic Strategies for Decarbonizing Construction

"Construction" contributes around 20% of human related GHGs every year. This is from the embodied emissions of materials, the transportation and construction processes. These embodied emissions occur mainly “upfront” before the building or infrastructure is even in use and is then effectively “locked in”. This means it has become the most important part of emission from buildings and infrastructure in the coming decades, especially in light of the climate emergency we are facing. Furthermore, most new construction (about 80%) in the next 25 years will occur in the global south. In the light of this background, I will talk about strategies which have a realistic prospect to reduce emission fast and at scale. Large scale reduction can be made, even with existing technologies, especially if these are deployed in combination. LC3, limestone calcined clay cement stands out for the scale and comparative ease with which it can be implemented, but even here we have an uphill struggle due to lack of incentives. Nevertheless I feel now the tide is turning and we need to think how we can accelerate this process in the future.

Speaker: Karen Scrivener, EPFL, Switzerland

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