Today, the number of efficient buildings in the world barely represents 1% of total building stock, and the percentage of new buildings built today to high-efficiency standards is barely above 10%. When you consider that the average building is operational for 60 years, you quickly realize it would take centuries to decarbonize all building stock through rebuilding, even if every new building is smart. At the same time, climate change continues to threaten our societies and increase pressure on real estate to reduce its 40% share of energy consumption via increasing regulation and market forces. If we are to reduce the environmental impact of buildings enough to meet science’s 2050 climate change deadline, then we will need to start an unprecedented building retrofit revolution very soon. “80% of the buildings we will use in 2050 have already been built. Retrofitting existing stock by 2050 will be a challenge, leaving many wondering whether it’s really possible,” says […]