Think beyond materials to Al-driven energy efficiency

A RECENT Nature Communications study indicates that even if all other sectors went net-zero today, emissions from construction alone would still push the world beyond the Paris Agreement's 1.5 deg C target by 2050. The sector produces roughly a third of global CO₂ emissions, mostly from manufacturing cement, steel, and bricks.

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The authors call for a global “material revolution” suggesting a shift to bio-based, circular, and reused materials. Their analysis found that of the 12.2 Gt CO₂ emitted in 2022, cement, clinker, bricks, and clay made up 40 per cent of the total, with metals adding another 15 per cent. These materials together have become more carbon-intensive over time – their combined share of construction emissions has risen from 39 per cent in 1995 to 57 per cent.

While the paper recommends replacing concrete and steel with bio-based materials, experts from Exergio, a company that develops AI-based tools for energy efficiency in commercial buildings, caution that the problem doesn’t stop at the construction site – even buildings made from carbon-neutral materials keep wasting energy after they start operating.