Carbon is infiltrating the atmosphere, and the built environment is a primary perpetrator. Need proof? Buildings generate nearly 40% of the world’s annual global CO2 emissions.
The effort to reduce these emissions, commonly referred to as decarbonization, centers on halting them from entering the atmosphere before they are ever released. The path to decarbonization yields an intricate labyrinth complete with legislative challenges, cost considerations, political divisiveness, grid overhauls, and more. For full-scale results, decarbonization can't be done a la carte, it must be implemented at every level, from production to consumption, through the power grid, supply chain, end-users, etc.
For the sake of our future, decarbonization is no longer a want; it’s a necessity. Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia have established economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions targets, thus buildings must decarbonize to adhere to the law. And, perhaps more importantly, decarbonization provides a solution to climate change, which was recently quantified in a report issued by the IPCC that states human influence has unequivocally warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land — and widespread, unprecedented changes have already occurred.