In terms of public and private housing, what initiatives have been/ can be taken in order to mitigate carbon emissions and adapt to a changing environment? What are some possible incentives that can be offered to the public and private sectors to encourage sustainable housing in New York City?
According to the U.S. Green Building Council,
In the United States alone, buildings account for:
• 72% of electricity consumption,
• 39% of energy use,
• 38% of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions,
• 40% of raw materials use,
• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually), and
• 14% of potable water consumption.
As shown in the above graph, provided by PLANYC, buildings account for about 45% of New York City’s total energy consumption.
Clearly, looking at Green Housing is very important, especially if we want to mitigate and adapt to global warming.
Selected information about Green Building from the U.S. Green Building Council. It touches upon statistical information concerning the economics of green building and the importance green building plays in the environment:
Market Impact
The green market was 2% of non-residential construction starts in 2005; 10-12% in 2008; and will grow to 20-25% by 2013[1].
Comprises 13.4% of the $13.2 trillion U.S. GDP. This includes all commercial, residential, industrial and infrastructure construction. New commercial and residential building construction constitutes 6.1% of the GDP[2].
Green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 million into the American economy over the next four years (2009-2013)[3].
Energy
Buildings represent 38.9% of U.S. primary energy use (includes fuel input for production)[4].
Buildings are one of the heaviest consumers of natural resources and account for a significant portion of the greenhouse gas emissions that affect climate change. In the U.S., buildings account for 38% of all CO2 emissions[5].
Buildings represent 72% of U.S electricity consumption[6].
Water
Buildings use 13.6% of all potable water, or 15 trillion gallons per year[7].
Materials
Buildings use 40% of raw materials globally (3 billion tons annually)[8].
The EPA estimates that 170 Million tons of building-related construction and demolition (C&D) debris was generated in the U.S. in 2003, with 61% coming from nonresidential and 39% from residential sources[9].
The EPA estimates that 209.7 million tons of municipal solid waste was generated in the U.S. in a single year[10].
