The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Buildings

The document identifies buildings as contributing almost one-third of global emissions and proposes three primary actions for regional governments: implementing net-zero building codes for new constructions, requiring energy efficiency upgrades for existing buildings, and establishing energy efficiency resource standards (EERS) for utilities.

• Buildings are a critical sector for climate action because they account for nearly one-third of global emissions.
• Regional governments should establish building codes that either immediately require or phase in net-zero carbon or energy performance for new buildings, prioritizing deep energy efficiency and on-site solar.
• To address existing buildings, governments should mandate energy efficiency standards based on building-equipment efficiency or energy consumption metrics specific to the building's use type.
• Regional authorities should implement energy efficiency resource standards (EERS) that require utilities and energy supply chain administrators to create energy-savings programs for customers, ideally coordinated with a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

APA

RMI (2018). The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Buildings. https://rmi.org/resources/carbon-free-regions-handbook-buildings/

Chicago

RMI. The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Buildings. 2018. https://rmi.org/resources/carbon-free-regions-handbook-buildings/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Buildings |date=26 August 2018 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/carbon-free-regions-handbook-buildings/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2018carbonfree, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Buildings}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/carbon-free-regions-handbook-buildings/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }