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Building sector accounts for nearly 30% of global final energy usage, and its energy demand is expected to keep growing with the increasing population and expanding tertiary industry in the coming decades. To achieve global climate mitigation goal, building sector will need to fully tap its potential on energy conservation and CO 2 reduction. This paper simulated the transformation pathways of global energy system under 2-degree and 1.5-degree climate targets with Global TIMES model, classified the 14 model regions into high, middle and low income region, and analyzed the main features and key challenges of each region’s building sector transition pathways. Modeling results show that: (1) For global building sector, 32 Gt of CO 2 emissions reduction is required between 2010 and 2050 by 2-degree target, additional 28 Gt of reduction would be essential to achieve 1.5-degree target; (2) High income region would take the lead in building sector’s CO 2 mitigation, while low income region may be increasingly important when the carbon constraint gets more stringent; (3) Electrification is a critical approach in building sector’s low carbon transition, by 2050, the share of electricity in final energy consumption is expected to reach 44%, 54% and 59% in reference, 2-degree and 1.5-degree scenarios respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of a changing climate, a growing number of construction firms are adopting carbon reduction targets on individual projects and across their portfolios. In the wake of the Paris Agreement, some firms are seeking a means of aligning their targets with sectoral, national and international mitigation commitments. There are numerous ways by which such an alignment can be achieved, each requiring different assumptions. Using data from the UK construction industry, this paper reviews current company commitments and progress in carbon mitigation; analyses the unique challenges in aligning construction targets, and presents a series of possible sectoral decarbonisation trajectories. The results highlight the disparity between current company targets and the range of possible trajectories. It is clear that a cross-industry dialogue is urgently required to establish an appropriate response that delivers both a widely-accepted target trajectory and a plan for its delivery. This paper is intended to stimulate and support this necessary debate by illustrating the impact of different methodological assumptions and highlighting the critical features of an appropriate response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green building (GB) is one of the most effective solutions to increase the efficiency of buildings through resource utilisation and recycling, mitigating the negative impact of the construction industry on the environment. As a construction innovation, GB has faced numerous challenges to its penetration into a market crowded with conventional buildings. Studies of GB barriers have been conducted around the world, including the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia, but they are scarce in Vietnam and limited to individual perspectives. This paper identifies 41 barriers to GB in Vietnam from the literature and validates them by a survey of 215 construction professionals and government officers. Principal Component Analysis in Exploratory Factor Analysis is used to reveal that, while legislative and institutional barriers are widely perceived as the most challenging obstacles, social and cognitive barriers as a whole represent the main hindrances involved. Final remarks include policy recommendations for GB adoption in Vietnam and suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Presents time series of embodied emissions in UK construction from 1997 to 2011. [•] Contends that mitigation requires greater focus on material efficiency. [•] Identifies barriers to uptake of alternative materials, technologies and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]