Green building standards and efficiency retrofits are not keeping up with energy demand, resulting in a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.

According to a new study, building emissions in the United States grew by 3 percent between 2010 and 2020, with the number projected to grow barring “significant interventions,” writes Nish Amarnath in Smart Cities Dive. “The study, which builds on an analysis conducted in 2022, assessed historical building emission trends and retrofit rates to pinpoint disparities between current initiatives and measures required to meet climate change goals.”
The report identified barriers to efficiency retrofits including workforce skill shortages, access to funding, and limited public awareness. The report also lists five ‘crucial enablers’ for : “setting net-zero building performance standards, developing a national retrofit plan, providing financial incentives and support, upskilling the workforce and scaling that supply chain, and promoting best practices and data transparency.”
The report points out that the funding allocated to net-zero building standards in the Inflation Reduction Act is not “sufficient to meet the size of the [emissions reduction] challenge.” However, the costs of decarbonization are becoming lower as renewable energy generation becomes more common and affordable.
FULL STORY: Without significant interventions, US building emissions will continue to increase

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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