Urban spaces represent only three per cent of the earth’s land surface, they account for more than 70 per cent of the total carbon emissions. According to the World Green Building Council, every building in the world must become ‘net-zero carbon’ by 2050 in order to maintain global warming below 1.5°C – however less than 1 per cent of the global building stock at present meets this standard. Data further shows that the primary sources of global greenhouse emissions are buildings, energy production and transport, when put together, it is clear this is a natural consequence of rapid urbanisation. This calls for more aggressive, far-reaching, and sustained actions that involves rethinking and transforming the physical places where we live and work — with people’s experience, public health and sustainability objectives at their core. Revitalising our planet’s health and winning the battle against climate change will require the setting of net-zero carbon standards for new buildings and construction; long-term investments to retrofit and digitise the current building stock and infrastructure; and envisioning a more holistic approach for planning and managing our communities.
Reducing the carbon footprint of buildings usually implies greener construction methods as well as the choice of materials. However, a carbon neutral built environment begins with design. Architects, for instance, need to be more cognisant of the ’embodied carbon’ of a building, i.e., the total greenhouse emissions generated to produce a built asset. Meeting compliance outcomes shouldn’t be the only goal of designers. How buildings will operate and perform along its lifespan requires design considerations too. As the market becomes more conscious and committed to a zero-carbon future, low-carbon design can become a reality for more and more buildings. Climate responsive design that minimises energy consumption in buildings and associated carbon emissions makes the role of architects and engineers even more critical. Passive design measures such as building orientation i.e., maximising or minimising a building’s passive solar gains in different seasons can reduce cooling loads effectively in this region. Moreover, the current roster of digital design tools allows designers, architects, planners, and energy consultants to delve into numerous, intricate interactions between the building, its systems, the climate, budget, and operations over its lifespan, thus helping quantify and foresee complex dependencies for accomplishing low-cost sustainable strategies. Microgrids can help integrate renewables at any scale and in closer proximity to their point of use, hence helping reduce transmission loss and ushering in a new age of sustainability. Bringing together clean end-use electrification, active energy management, and integrated design and smart technologies, with the support of effective financing, can considerably lower building energy usage and emissions.