Buildings are responsible for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, making buildings the single largest contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An average person spends about 90 per cent of their time inside buildings. This presents the building sector with the challenge of reducing GHG emissions, while maintaining, if not enhancing, the quality of services to building occupants. Furthermore, the building sector typically contributes 5 to 15 per cent of a country’s GDP on average, and provides 5–10 per cent of employment at the national level. Mitigating climate change in the building sector also means providing opportunities for a green economy and more green jobs.
The building sector offers vast opportunities for reducing GHG emissions, while strengthening sustainable development, within and across nations. This guidebook provides a detailed description of mitigation technologies and practices in the building sector. It aims to contribute necessary technical knowledge and information for countries to carry out Technology Needs Assessments and develop Technology Action Plans that support climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
This publication is part of a technical guidebook series produced by the UNEP Risø Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development (URC) as part of a larger Technology Needs Assessment project. Its production was coordinated by Dr Jorge Rogat and authored by Dr Wynn Chi-Nguyen Cam, a passionate architect and researcher on sustainable built environment.