How RMI Is Accelerating Demand-Side Transformation to Deliver Ambitious Equitable Climate Outcomes for Buildings

RMI advocates for a shift toward demand-side solutions in the buildings sector to address its contribution to nearly 40 percent of global carbon dioxide pollution. The strategy focuses on electrifying heating and cooking, implementing comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits, and reducing the embodied carbon of construction materials like steel and concrete, while centering benefits for underserved communities.

• The buildings sector is responsible for nearly 40 percent of global carbon dioxide pollution, driven by electricity demand for lighting and appliances, on-site burning of fossil fuels for heating and cooking, and the energy used to produce construction materials such as steel and cement.
• In the United States, over 70 million buildings rely on on-site fossil fuel combustion for operations, including 24 million low-income households. Transitioning these buildings to electrified systems like heat pumps and induction stoves is presented as a more economic alternative to volatile fossil fuels, biogas, or hydrogen.
• Embodied carbon from the production of building materials accounts for approximately 10 percent of all global climate pollution. RMI suggests that through whole-building design and procurement practices, embodied carbon can be reduced by 19–46 percent with a cost premium of no more than 1 percent.
• To achieve equitable decarbonization, the document emphasizes the need for holistic, whole-building retrofits provided at little to no upfront cost for low-income families, alongside the inclusion of frontline and underserved communities in decision-making processes.

APA

RMI (2022). How RMI Is Accelerating Demand-Side Transformation to Deliver Ambitious Equitable Climate Outcomes for Buildings. https://rmi.org/resources/how-rmi-is-accelerating-demand-side-transformation/

Chicago

RMI. How RMI Is Accelerating Demand-Side Transformation to Deliver Ambitious Equitable Climate Outcomes for Buildings. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/how-rmi-is-accelerating-demand-side-transformation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=How RMI Is Accelerating Demand-Side Transformation to Deliver Ambitious Equitable Climate Outcomes for Buildings |date=23 August 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/how-rmi-is-accelerating-demand-side-transformation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022how, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{How RMI Is Accelerating Demand-Side Transformation to Deliver Ambitious Equitable Climate Outcomes for Buildings}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/how-rmi-is-accelerating-demand-side-transformation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }