Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in Construction
Book chapter, 2025
The construction sector is pivotal in addressing climate change, with deep decarbonization requiring urgent action across the value chain. This article explores pathways to decarbonizing the built environment through innovative design, material efficiency, and circularity measures. It highlights the importance of sufficiency principles, prioritizing renovation and adaptive reuse over new construction, and employing hybrid systems to reduce embodied carbon emissions. Collaborative approaches and digital tools enable resource-efficient planning and emissions tracking, while cascading use of bio-based materials and electrification of processes further support emissions reductions. Key enablers include circular resource flows based on innovative business models along with policy-driven emissions caps. By integrating sufficiency measures with supply and demand-side strategies, the construction sector can align with climate goals to halve emissions before 2030 with near-zero targets achievable before 2050.
Built environment
circular economy
Net-Zero
Mitigation
Resource efficiency
Decarbonization
Collaboration
Sustainability Transitions
Supply Chain
Construction industry
Buildings
Pathways
Emissions
Design
Transition
climate change
Author
Ida Karlsson
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Energy Technology
Confronting the Environmental Crisis: New Approaches in Architecture
44-59
9783986121884 (ISBN)
MISTRA Carbon Exit Phase 2
The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra) (MISTRACarbonExitPhase2), 2021-07-01 -- 2025-03-31.
Driving Forces
Sustainable development
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Construction Management
Energy Systems