Highlight

Why buildings hold the key to a low-carbon future? The GBPN provides evidence that ambitious improvements in the energy performance of buildings can reduce their CO₂ emissions by one third by 2050 and sets out the necessary steps towards a "Deep market transformation". 

Infographic: key findings from the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for the buildings sector.

A new briefing issued today distils the key findings from the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) for the buildings sector.

“Adopting Decarbonization Policies in the Buildings and Construction Sector” provides a review of the evidence of the impact of implementing cost-effective policy measures to reduce the carbon footprint of the buildings and construction sector.

Residential energy efficiency interventions are complex social and construction programmes that may benefit health, yet the interactions between the material improvements, health and health-related outcomes, and householder responses are not well understood. While indoor winter warmth and householder satisfaction have been identified as the key mediators for physiological, mental and social health outcomes, this paper explores how programme contexts may have influenced the outcomes. This review revealed that common target populations were low income households, children and the elderly.