India taps into zero-carbon buildings’ climatic, economic and social benefits, decreasing energy demand and increasing efficiency and access. Photo by Adam Cohn/Flickr
In 2013, the world’s cities accounted for 64 percent of primary energy use and 70 percent of CO2 emissions.
The Financing Sustainable Cities Initiative connects stakeholders to improve municipal building energy efficiency. Photo by Alejandro/ Flickr
The majority of the energy used by buildings is wasted, resulting in increased energy costs and air pollution. Among C40 cities, this translates to between 50 percent and 75 percent of citywide carbon emissions.
Dehli skyline. India’s building sector accounted for nearly a third of its energy consumption in 2016. Photo by Francisco Anzola/ Flickr
India’s buildings are silent power guzzlers.
Beijing skyline in the evening. Photo by Jens Schott Knudsen/ Flickr
China has grand plans to green its buildings.
The country’s national climate commitment calls for 50 percent of all new buildings constructed by 2020 to be certified green buildings, while its 13th Five-Year Plan prioritizes building efficiency.
Construction Workers in Tianjin, China. Photo: Yang Aijun / World Bank / Flickr
Cities and countries around the world are adopting building energy codes as tools to reduce energy consumption. Mexico City recently joined this wave, when, in June, the city updated its building regulations to include energy efficiency for the first time.
Belgrade, Serbia committed to new goals in building efficiency. Photo by Andres Arjona/Flickr
Around the world, urban leaders including university presidents, renowned architects, city mayors and financial managers are recognizing the need to manage explosive energy demand growth from rapid urbanization.
Building efficiency offers benefits to cities. Photo by Hsiuan Boyen/Flickr
Urbanization presents major challenges: congestion, sprawl, inefficiency, health hazards and high cost of living, just to name a few.
Photo by Brendan Corey Benson/Flickr.
Are you involved with decision making, operations or investments in the buildings and real estate sector? If the answer is yes, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities invites you to please share your insights in a survey designed to expand our understanding of energy efficiency in cities.
By prioritizing energy efficiency in its own public buildings, the city of Buenos Aires is setting an example for building performance across Argentina. Photo by David Berkowitz/Flickr.
Shenzhen, Buenos Aires and Kiev’s experiences pursuing energy efficiency demonstrate that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to achieving better buildings.