According to C40 Cities, urban communities account for nearly 70 percent of the world’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions. While new building construction today is more likely to incorporate an energy efficient strategy from the outset, the real opportunity lies in deep energy retrofits of aging building stock. C40 also asserts that energy renovations can provide up to 55 percent of the GHG emissions reduction needed to reach the 2030 targets of the Paris Agreement and align with a 1.5 ̊C trajectory.
And where once the push for decarbonization came from environmental activists and a handful of policy makers, today there is a swell of public support for action. The trend is confirmed in a report released late in 2021 by ROCKWOOL Group and Cambridge Econometrics; the report maps a clear path to greener buildings and shows strong support from the public to renovate their homes, if adequate financial and administrative support is available. Including data from a global first-of-its-kind survey of 14,000 people in the United States, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom, the report confirms the public appetite for energy efficient buildings, while also showcasing the need for governments to develop fit-for-purpose renovation programs.