Europe leads in green construction technology investments and boasts pioneering regulations in building standards and sustainability.
I’m talking about the capital flowing into meatless burgers and alternative milks, paper straws and e-scooters, all presented as urgent efforts to tackle climate change. This summer in Europe, as with last summer, extreme weather has caused wildfires that have destroyed homes, businesses and communities. In the last 12 months, catastrophic flooding has hit Pakistan and Canada. Focusing on the wrong targets – like making an all vegetarian population – will not help, certainly not in time.
Real estate is the world’s largest industry . It’s also the least digitised and most polluting asset class. As much as 8 per cent of global green house emissions come from concrete alone. A third of solid waste in Europe and North America comes from the construction and demolition of our buildings and the built world industry as a whole is responsible for 40 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions.
There is a particular advantage in Europe, where more than $4.5bn has been invested into green construction tech between 2017 and 2022. More than half of these deals were in Europe. European regulations in renewable energy, building standards and sustainability are world-leading. The research taking place at European universities can establish a climate tech industry that serves the whole world.