Growth in Floor Area: The Blind Spot in Cutting Carbon

The construction sector has focused mainly on improving its energy efficiency and the substitution of fossil fuels to decarbonize buildings.  It has largely ignored the threat from the continued growth in the built environment.  This article argues that embodied carbon in buildings can be reduced only at the strategic planning level and through the use of low-carbon materials.  Given the urgency, climate emergency, and increasing scarcity of resources, sufficiency and sustainability solutions must be promptly implemented to support the required services while consuming fewer resources.  However, it suggests that the solutions are too much at odds with existing business models.

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