Decarbonising heating in buildings

An accelerated phase-out of fossil gas can strengthen Europe’s energy security and help reduce emissions faster, by up to 60% by 2030. Through structural demand reductions, the EU can halve the use of fossil gas this decade and phase it out of energy systems by 2050 while maintaining industrial production and ensuring security of supply, Agora’s EU Gas Exit Pathway shows.

In the city of Zurich, the use of recycled concrete and low-carbon cement in new public buildings is commonplace today. Zurich’s public procurement policy, together with initial technology support, created a market for recycled concrete over time, successfully expanding into the private market.

In France, up to 90% of a new building’s greenhouse gas emissions are generated during the construction and demolition phases. A new regulation, called RE2020, sets a cap on those emissions. With a phase-in period followed by tighter caps over time, the French government aims to trigger a progressive transformation of the whole construction value chain towards the production and use of low-carbon building materials.