Abstract
Retrofitting existing buildings is crucial for achieving Net Zero emissions. Institutional real estate owners play a key role because of their significant ownership, especially of large buildings. We utilize an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate cost-optimal decarbonization conditions for three Swiss real estate portfolios owned by a global institutional investor. We leverage a bottom-up optimization framework for building asset retrofitting, scaled to the portfolio-level, to study the effect of policy scenarios and implementations. Results indicate that achieving Net Zero necessitates significant investments, largely through thermal energy efficiency measures and low-CO2 energy systems, as early as possible to avoid locked-in emissions. Owners will be challenged to smooth long-term capital investments, pointing to a potential liquidity crisis. Consequently, hard-to-decarbonize assets are unable to reach regulatory benchmarks largely because of lingering embodied emissions. To lower transition risk, we recommend that policymakers move toward average CO2 benchmarks at the real estate portfolio-level, emulating automotive fleets.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
