Renovations Are a Massive Missed Opportunity to Address Climate Change
What if every repair and remodel made homes and offices more energy efficient?
When a homeowner needs to replace their roof, they can improve energy efficiency with insulation. But the U.S. doesn’t have a system for incentivizing homeowners to make these carbon-saving changes with every repair and renovation.
Photographer: invincible_bulldog/iStockphotoBuildings generate nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. About two-thirds of the global building stock will still exist in 2040 and, if left as they are, these buildings will continue to generate unsustainable levels of carbon emissions.
For existing buildings, mounting evidence is pointing to retrofitting as a realistic solution. When compared to tearing them down and building anew, improving the efficiency of the buildings we have is also a less carbon-intensive alternative.
But persuading home and business owners to make major building upgrades just for the sake of energy savings can be an uphill battle. The good news is that there’s a less disruptive and more cost-effective option that can not only help slow the pace of climate change, but also make buildings more comfortable, durable and valuable at the same time. We call it opportunistic retrofitting.