IEA: Net Zero by 2050 Roadmap
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an intergovernmental agency set up under the framework of the OECD in 1974 in response to the 1973 oil crisis. It now provides authoritative analysis, data, policy recommendations, and real-world solutions to help countries provide secure and sustainable energy for all.
It is a useful resource to see how the world is tracking towards Net Zero Emissions by 2050 – the target set by the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris on 12th Dec 2015.
The operations of buildings account for 30% of global final energy consumption and 26% of global energy-related emissions (8% being direct emissions in buildings and 18% indirect emissions from the production of electricity and heat used in buildings). (See https://www.iea.org/energy-system/buildings#overview) This is a significant sector to focus on for climate mitigation.
The IEA and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) consistently state in their reports that Net Zero and Zero Energy Buildings are crucial to decarbonising the building sector, and high-performance buildings such as Passivhaus exemplify this approach. Also, buildings are long-lived assets, and any inefficient buildings constructed today will only be more costly to run decades from now.
A landmark report is “Net Zero by 2050 – A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector” published by the IEA in October 2021. A copy is available here.
C.Street is implementing the IEA’s key building milestone targets in our projects:
- Voluntary adoption of the Passivhaus standard and using it as a tool to achieve Zero Carbon Ready Buildings (a highly energy efficient building that either uses renewable energy directly or an energy supply (e.g. a grid supply) that will be fully decarbonised by 2050).
- Installing high-efficiency electric Hot Water Heat Pumps.
- Installing rooftop PV and battery storage to reduce/eliminate grid reliance.
- Installing individual EV Chargers for all dwellings as EVs will represent >60% of vehicle sales by 2030.