
-
New blow to German auto sector as Audi announces job cuts
-
New Canada PM meets King Charles and Macron after Trump threats
-
Hong Kong property tycoon Lee Shau-kee dies aged 97
-
Webb telescope directly observes exoplanet CO2 for first time
-
Stench of death as Sudan army, paramilitaries battle for capital
-
'More and faster': UN calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint
-
US retail sales weaker than expected as consumer health under scrutiny
-
Court upholds £3 bn lifeline for UK's top water supplier
-
OECD lowers global growth projections over tariffs, uncertainty
-
Stock markets rise as China unveils consumer plan
-
Yemen's Huthis claim US aircraft carrier attacks
-
At least 40 killed in weekend US tornadoes
-
From determination to despair: S.Africa's youth battling for work
-
Designer Jonathan Anderson leaves Spanish brand Loewe
-
Markets start week on front foot as China unveils consumer plan
-
Gauls on tour: Asterix does Portugal for 41st comic
-
'Dark oxygen': a deep-sea discovery that has split scientists
-
Race to name creatures of the deep as mining interest grows
-
Yemen's Huthis claim attacks on carrier group after US strikes
-
Wind-powered mast to cut emissions sets sail to Canada
-
Giant mine machine swallowing up Senegal's fertile coast
-
Why are proposed deep-sea mining rules so contentious?
-
Stranded US astronauts to return to Earth on Tuesday: NASA
-
Cuba gradually turning lights back on after island-wide blackout
-
SpaceX Crew Dragon docks with ISS to reach stranded astronauts
-
China's Baidu releases new AI model to compete with DeepSeek
-
SpaceX Crew Dragon opens hatch with ISS to reach stranded astronauts: live TV
-
US strikes in Yemen kill 31 as Trump vows to end Huthi attacks
-
Mexicans protest for victims of latest mass grave discovery
-
China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
-
Rare iconic movie posters to be auctioned in US
-
US Fed likely to keep rates steady as Trump uncertainty flares
-
At least 33 dead as tornadoes ravage central US
-
Trump's bitcoin reserve a 'digital Fort Knox'
-
At least 27 dead as tornadoes ravage central US
-
US strikes in Yemen kill 20 as Trump vows to end Huthi attacks
-
Major storm in central US leaves at least 18 dead
-
Latest power outage leaves Cubans struggling to get by
-
Oil spill in Ecuador river brings emergency declaration
-
Major storm in central US leaves at least 14 dead: officials
-
Brazilians sentenced in beating death of Congolese migrant
-
France launches manslaughter probe against TotalEnergies over Mozambique attack
-
Musk says Starship to depart for Mars at end of 2026
-
Armed groups covet cocoa in eastern DR Congo
-
Sri Lanka counts nuisance wildlife in bid to protect crops
-
Cuba suffers fourth nationwide blackout in five months
-
New nationwide blackout hits Cuba, officials say
-
Meta strives to stifle ex-employee memoir
-
US Congress clears key hurdle in bid to avert govt shutdown
-
Gold tops $3,000 for first time on Trump tariff war, stocks rebound

'More and faster': UN calls to shrink buildings' carbon footprint
Countries must move rapidly to slash CO2 emissions from homes, offices, shops and other buildings -- a sector that accounts for a third of global greenhouse gas pollution, the United Nations said Monday.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector rose around five percent in the last decade when they should have fallen 28 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
It said emissions had plateaued since 2023 as climate policies began to have an impact, particularly green building standards, the use of renewable energy and electrified heating and cooling.
But the building sector still consumes 32 percent of the world's energy and contributes 34 percent of CO2 emissions, the report found.
"The buildings where we work, shop and live account for a third of global emissions and a third of global waste," said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.
"The good news is that government actions are working. But we must do more and do it faster."
She called on nations to include targets to "rapidly cut emissions from buildings and construction" in their climate plans.
The report said that while most of the countries that signed up to the 2015 Paris climate deal -- nearly 200 have signed -- mention the sector, so far only 19 countries have sufficiently detailed goals in their national carbon cutting plans.
The report said that as of 2023, important metrics like energy-related emissions and the adoption of renewable energy "remain well below required progress rates".
That means that countries, businesses and homeowners now need to dramatically pick up the pace to meet the 2030 emissions reduction targets.
- 'Critical challenge' -
Direct and indirect CO2 emissions will now need to fall more than 10 percent per year, more than double the originally envisaged pace.
The rollout of renewables is a similar story.
The share of renewables like solar and wind in final energy consumption rose by only 4.5 percentage points since 2015, well behind the goal of nearly 18 percentage points.
That now needs to accelerate by a factor of seven to meet this decade's goal of tripling renewable energy use worldwide, UNEP said.
The report urged countries to accelerate the roll-out of renewable technologies and increase the share of renewables in the final energy mix to 46 percent by 2030 -- a rise of around 18 percent.
It also called on policymakers to increase energy efficiency retrofits to include better design, insulation and the use of renewables and heat pumps.
More work also needs to be done to improve the sustainability of materials like steel and cement, whose manufacture accounts for nearly a fifth of all emissions from the building sector.
But the report did say that circular construction practices were increasing in some areas, with recycled materials accounting for 18 percent of construction inputs in Europe.
The authors urged all major greenhouse gas emitters to take action by introducing zero-carbon building energy codes by 2028, and called on other countries to create and tighten their regulations within the next 10 years.
The report highlighted positive national policies from China, France, Germany, Mexico and South Africa among others.
But it said financing remained a "critical challenge".
In 2023, it found that global investment in energy efficiency in buildings fell seven percent from a year earlier to $270 billion, driven by higher borrowing costs and the winding back of government support programmes, notably in Europe.
Those investments now need to double -- to $522 billion -- by 2030, it said.
D.Goldberg--CPN