The Need to Decarbonise Buildingsreasons, Challenges and Objectives

  1. Taltavull, Paloma 1
  2. Pérez, Raúl 2
  3. Juárez, Francisco 3
  1. 1 Departamento Análisis Económico Aplicado, UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE, SPAIN
  2. 2 Departamento de Edificación y Urbanismo, UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE, SPAIN
  3. 3 Departamento de Análisis Económico Aplicado, UNIVERSIDAD DE ALICANTE, SPAIN.
Journal:
Estudios de economía aplicada

ISSN: 1133-3197 1697-5731

Year of publication: 2021

Issue Title: SUSTAINABLE ECONOMICS

Volume: 39

Issue: 3

Type: Article

DOI: 10.25115/EEA.V39I3.5573 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Estudios de economía aplicada

Sustainable development goals

Abstract

The article addresses the relevance of the real estate sector in climate change control through the decarbonisation of buildings. It presents a case study of an investment portfolio artificially constructed from randomly selected buildings in different Spanish cities and with different uses, evaluated in terms of their structural and energy characteristics. The CRREM tool is used to evaluate the decarbonisation horizon of the buildings between 2018 and 2050, their total emissions and their cost, in relation to the maximum allowed in the agreements signed by the EU in Paris (COP21). From this calculation, an assessment is provided of when buildings will become energetically stranded (energy obsolete) assets and the cost of carbon emitted above permitted levels. These calculations lend transparency to the investment decision-making process facing building owners in the EU over the next 30 years.

Bibliographic References

  • Christensen, P. H., Robinson, S. J., and Simons, R. A. (2018). The influence of energy considerations on decision making by institutional real estate owners in the US. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 94, 275-284.
  • CLIMACT (2018). Net zero by 2050: From whether to how. Zero emissions pathways to the Europe we want. Retrieved from https://europeanclimate.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/NZ2050-from-whether-to-how.pdf (Last accessed: 20.03.2019).
  • Climate Action Tracker (2018). Scaling up climate action. Key opportunities for transitioning to a zero emissions society. Retrieved from https://climateactiontracker.org/documents/505/CAT_2018-12-06_ScalingUp_EU_FullReport.pdf (Last accessed 2/2/2021)
  • CRREM, Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor. EU project H2020. https://crrem.eu
  • European commission (2012). Energy Roadmap 2050. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/energy/sites/ener/files/documents/2012_energy_roadmap_2050_en_0.pdf(Last accessed 2/2/2021)
  • European Climate Foundation (2018). 2050 Roadmap Tool (Carbon Transparency Initiative based). Retrieved from https://europeanclimate.org/2050-roadmap-tool-what-delivering-the-paris-agreement-means-for-europe/ (Last accessed 11/03/2019).
  • European commission (2009a). Directive 2009/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009L0029 (Last accessed 20/03/2019).
  • European commission (2009b). Decision No 406/2009/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the effort of member states to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community's greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009D0406 (Last accessed 20/03/2019).
  • European Commission (2014). European Council 23/24 October 2014 – Conclusions. Retrieved from https://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/145397.pdf (Last accessed 20/03/2019).
  • European Commission (2018). Regulation (EU) 2018/842 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on binding annual greenhouse gas emission reductions by Member States from 2021 to 2030 contributing to climate action to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement and amending Regulation (EU) No 525/2013.
  • Gignac, R., & Matthews, H. D. (2015). Allocating a 2 °C cumulative carbon budget to countries. Environmental research letters Vol. 10, No. 7, DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/10/7/075004 Global alliance for Building and Construction data. Retrieved from https://globalabc.org/resources/publications#database
  • Hirsch, J., LaSource, J.J., Recourt, R., Spanner, M., Geiger, P., Haran, M., McGreal, S., Davis, P., Taltavull, P., Perez, R., Juárez, F., Martinez, A.M., & Brounen, D. (2019). Stranding Risk & Carbon. Science-based decarbonising of the EU commercial real estate sector. CRREM report No.1, 2019, Wörgl, Austria.
  • McKinsey & Co (2009). Pathways to a Low-Carbon economy: version 2. Global Greenhouse Gas Abatement Cost Curve. McKinsey and Company, publicly. Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/sustainability/cost%20curve%20pdfs/pathways_lowcarbon_economy_version2.ashx
  • Rockström, J., Gaffney, O., Rogelj, J., Meinshausen, M., Nakicenovic, N., & Schellnhuber, H. J. (2017). A roadmap for rapid decarbonization. Science, 355(6331), 1269-1271.
  • Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) (2015). Sectoral decarbonisation approach (SDA): A method for setting corporate emission reduction targets in line with climate science. Retrieved from https://sciencebasedtargets.org/downloads
  • Spanner, M.M., & Wein, J. (2020). Carbon risk real estate monitor: making decarbonisation in the real estate sector measurable. Journal of European Real Estate Research, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 277-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/JERER-05-2020-0031
  • UN (2020). Environment Global Status Report for buildings and construction. Retrieved from https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/34572/GSR_ES.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y (Last accessed 2/2/2021)
  • UNEP United Nations Environment Programme (2017). The Emissions Gap Report 2017. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi.
  • UNFCCC United Nations (2015). Framework Convention on Climate Change: Key aspects of the Paris Agreement. Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement/key-aspects-of-the-paris-agreement