The Paris Climate Agreement as Benchmark for Buildings and Companies

Abstract

The real estate market has a high obligation, but also many opportunities, to tackle climate change. The real estate sector is responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the EU. The global temperature must not rise by more than 1.5° Celsius compared to pre-industrial times in order to avert serious consequences of climate change. 195 countries agreed on this target by signing the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 and thus also set the legislative framework and the desired direction of development for societies, companies and buildings. The Paris Climate Agreement can be used to establish a benchmark by showing which development routes are necessary to be compliant with the Agreement. It can be examined which adjustments are necessary to limit maximum global warming to 1.5° Celsius. By matching specific properties against such a benchmark, it can be worked out which properties are at risk of no longer being usable/rentable because they cannot meet the expected increases in environmental regulations, CO2 pricing, building standards and market expectations. This can be used to address transitory climate change risks.