Euractiv’s Post

In this video, Patrick Harvie MSP, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, delivers a passionate speech on the urgent need for decarbonisation and sustainable innovation. His keynote outlines Scotland's ambitious journey towards achieving Net Zero and stresses the crucial role of collaborative efforts in shaping a greener future. 🌱 Patrick Harvie MSP, Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel, and Tenants' Rights, underscores the urgency of addressing climate change through decarbonisation efforts. He emphasises Scotland's pivotal role in tackling the climate emergency and highlights the ambitious target of achieving Net Zero by 2045. Despite making progress in reducing emissions since 1990, Harvie acknowledges the significant challenges that remain, particularly in decarbonising homes, buildings, and communities. Harvie outlines a comprehensive approach to tackle these challenges, which includes legislative measures, regulatory frameworks, and substantial investments. He discusses proposed legislation aimed at decarbonising heat in buildings, emphasising the need for clarity and long-term direction to encourage investment in sustainable practices. Highlighting initiatives such as the Heat Network Fund and the Social Housing Net Zero Heat Fund, he demonstrates the government's commitment to supporting the transition away from fossil fuels. . . 🔗Click the link to listen to his ideas: https://lnkd.in/eFXwSH-b . . #climateleadership #carbonneutrality #environmentallyfriendly #greenerfuture #climatechange #publicprivatepartnership #sustainabilitygoals #communityengagement #decarbonisation #sustainableinnovation #netzero #climateemergency #scotlandclimate #greenfuture #legislation #renewableenergy #heatnetwork #socialhousing #collaboration #energyefficiency #urbanenvironments #climateaction #sustainableliving

Buildings are the new frontier in climate action Dextall

Cambridge City Council has achieved a reduction of 10.8% in its own emissions since 2022/23, representing a saving of about 500 tonnes of #CO2 compared to the previous year. The council themselves highlight three main initiatives which have particularly led to these reductions: 1. Investing in its leisure centres and swimming pools to make them more energy efficient and lower carbon emissions by installing heat pumps and solar panels. £1.7m was awarded to the council through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme which the council used to install air source heat pumps and make energy efficiency upgrades to Parkside and Abbey Pools 2. Using hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to power generators at events the council organises in the city’s parks, such as the Folk Festival, instead of diesel. This significantly reduces the carbon emissions produced by these events 3. Introducing the fourth electric refuse collection lorry in June 2024. This is part of Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service’s plan to progressively replace the vehicles with electric or low carbon alternatives at the point when they are due for replacement. Above and beyond the councils’ own efforts, emissions from #Cambridge as a whole have fallen by 44.7% since 2005, much of this being due to the support the council have given to residents and businesses, such as a pilot programme to retrofit 50 council owned homes to #netzero standards which is currently underway. This project will help to significantly reduce energy consumption, #carbonemissions and #energybills, whilst improving home comfort for the residents The council, in collaboration with other local councils, is also offering small and medium businesses expert advice to develop a net zero road map and, through the Green Business Programme, are making a capital grant of up to £5,000 available to businesses to part-fund investment in carbon-saving technology, equipment or improvements needed to start implementing it. In recognitions of their efforts, Cambridge City Council has been ranked as an A-rated city by the Carbon Disclosure Project and ranked as the second greenest city in the #UK. Cllr Rosy Moore, Executive Councillor for Climate Action and Environment, said: ‘I am so pleased at how far we have come and the fantastic reductions we have seen in emissions and #greenhousegasses, however we still have lots more to do as a council and as a city. ‘We are living in a #climateemergency and there is no time to delay – we are seeing the effects of #climatechange across the world, as well as in our own lives. It is so important that we keep working together, as one city, to address climate change, mitigate the impacts and adapt to the changes that are already happening.’

This is a great perspective on a complex topic. The work of decarbonization in existing buildings is nuanced! https://lnkd.in/gGvie_At

Stanhope is proud to have been supporting the development of the technical content for the #UKNZCBS! The UK NZC Buildings Standard will enable the construction industry to prove robustly that built assets align with the UK’s carbon and energy budgets – something we strongly need. Until this point, there has been no single, agreed methodology for defining what ‘net zero carbon’ means for buildings in the UK. We look forward to supporting this pilot study, applying it to our projects, and contributing our learnings to the industry to inform the final release. Download the #UKNetZeroCarbonBuildingsStandard Pilot Version and read more about the initiative here: www.nzcbuildings.co.uk #UKNetZeroCarbonBuildingsStandard #UKNZCBS #NetZero #NetZeroGoals #NetZeroEmissions #ZeroCarbon #ClimateAction #Sustainability #OperationalEnergy #EmbodiedCarbon #CarbonFootprint #ClimateCrisis #SustainableFuture #ClimateSolutions #Decarbonisation

Heres my take on a possible solution , we are all doing it anyway in some form or another , if the Goverment are serious then like the #buildingsafetyfund surely a susainability fund is also available ? how about the idea of a Building Efficiency Emission Zone (BEEZ) for London! This initiative aims to follow the successful footsteps of Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and incentivize property owners to upgrade their buildings to meet higher energy efficiency standards. The idea is to impose a surcharge on non-compliant buildings, encouraging investments in green technology like better insulation, solar panels, and modern heating systems. Imagine the positive impact this could have on our city - a dramatic decrease in carbon footprint, improved air quality, and sustainable practices in construction and maintenance. Investing in BEEZ could lead to long-term savings and increase property values. What are your thoughts on this proposal? Could BEEZ be the next big step for our city? Let's discuss how we can make London a leader in urban sustainability! @whoever is the next leader to Run this country #Sustainability #GreenBuildings #UrbanPlanning #London #Innovation #ClimateAction

Decarbonising public sector buildings to help achieve net zero - Whatever stage you’re at with property asset decarbonisation, we can support you with advice, planning and business case submission to ensure energy-efficient public sector buildings and social housing.https://https://lnkd.in/dMiqg7Hn   #Localgovernment #Localauthorities #Betteroutcomes #Citizenexperience #Decarbonisation

The US Department of Energy has released a national definition for zero-emissions buildings. This standardized definition provides consistency and clarity to the #netzero transition, supporting the real estate value chain in achieving and identifying the lowest-carbon buildings. ULI's Marta Schantz, Co-Executive Director of the Randall Lewis Center for Sustainability in Real Estate said: "This move by the federal government is a step forward in encouraging and accelerating the building sector’s journey to net zero, laying the crucial groundwork for the industry’s broader strategy to meet climate goals, ensuring all stakeholders have a unified understanding of what constitutes a zero emissions building." Read the full article on Urban Land Online at https://lnkd.in/emwQ9H3H for more details on the definition and its implications for real estate. #Sustainability #RealEstate #CommercialRealEstate

As governments across Europe finally start tackling the outsized carbon footprint associated with the built environment, responsible for roughly 40 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions, there’s something often overlooked that could aid or obstruct this decarbonization effort. It’s public perception. Currently, building decarbonization receives just one-third the media..

⏪ Last week, we put the climate centre-stage with the publication of 'Building a Sustainable Future', our carbon manifesto for real estate.   🌎 We will not decarbonise our economy until we decarbonise our homes and buildings. However, 90% of homes are still heated by fossil fuels, and the latest BPF analysis shows that 84% of commercial spaces are rated EPC C or below. This means over 175,000 commercial spaces need to be retrofitted every year between now and 2030 to raise the standard of all commercial buildings to EPC B by the end of the decade.   Our carbon manifesto sets out the action we need from the next Government to unlock investment into decarbonising our buildings and accelerate the transition to a net zero carbon property sector. This includes:  ➡️ A comprehensive net zero roadmap for the real estate sector, across all tenures and asset classes. ➡️ A Minister for net zero buildings. ➡️ Rebalancing gas and electricity costs to speed up the electrification of homes and buildings. ➡️ Clarity on future minimum energy efficiency standards and reform of domestic EPCs. ➡️ Whole life carbon assessments and reporting. ➡️ Zero rating VAT on repairs and maintenance and introducing a 'Green Super Deduction'. ➡️ Increasing investment in the national grid and speeding up grid connections. ➡️ Properly resourcing planning departments and delivering a 'retrofit first' not 'retrofit only' approach to sustainable development.   🔗 You can read the full manifesto here: https://lnkd.in/ejJfC5KK