Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Foreword
- INTRODUCTION
- Section 1 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBAL ENERGY INDUSTRY
- Section 2 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ENERGY-INTENSIVE SECTORS
- Section 3 TECHNOLOGICAL PROSPECTS FOR NUCLEAR AND RENEWABLE ENERGIES
- Section 4 GREEN CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES
- 10 Carbon Emissions of Buildings: Challenges and Solutions
- 11 Urbanization, Sustainable Cities and the Arab Gulf States
- Contributors
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
10 - Carbon Emissions of Buildings: Challenges and Solutions
from Section 4 - GREEN CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Foreword
- INTRODUCTION
- Section 1 TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBAL ENERGY INDUSTRY
- Section 2 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ENERGY-INTENSIVE SECTORS
- Section 3 TECHNOLOGICAL PROSPECTS FOR NUCLEAR AND RENEWABLE ENERGIES
- Section 4 GREEN CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES
- 10 Carbon Emissions of Buildings: Challenges and Solutions
- 11 Urbanization, Sustainable Cities and the Arab Gulf States
- Contributors
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Climate change is occurring, according to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). When such an important finding comes from one of the most conservative group of scientists worldwide, it should be taken as a clear warning of the importance of considering this issue seriously and the critical need to start searching for solutions before it is too late.
The built environment is responsible for about 48 percent of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and 30–40 percent of the total carbon emissions in the United Kingdom. The construction sector in India emits about 22 percent of the total annual emissions of CO2. The production of construction materials is primarily dependent on conventional energy sources in many parts of the world. Of the emissions from the construction sector, around 80 percent are generated as a result of the products/industrial processes associated with energy intensive building materials (i.e. cement, lime, steel, brick and aluminum.) Over the next three decades, building stock is projected to grow extensively, which creates an extraordinary opportunity to achieve significant emissions reductions in the sector. Pressure to slash CO2 emissions continues to mount, with growing levels of legislation and incentives to preserve our environment. To meet these targets, considerable research into energy efficiency is underway.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Technology and the Future of Energy , pp. 309 - 328Publisher: Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and ResearchPrint publication year: 2013