Energy and climate innovation in buildings

Paolo Bertoldi

Chapter 23 in Handbook of Energy Innovation, 2026, pp 445-473 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Energy demand in the buildings sector is substantial, representing 32 per cent of global final energy consumption, and it is projected to increase due to several factors, in particular population, gross domestic product and household disposable growth. Global greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector is about 21 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Currently the building sector is not aligned with the Paris Agreement decarbonisation goal at mid-century. The building sector is still far from being energy efficient and there is an untapped potential for reducing energy demand primarily through the implementation of energy-efficiency solutions. Innovation in building plays an important role to ensure that energy demand from buildings does not further increase and instead starts to decrease in the coming years. In this chapter, innovation in buildings is addressed in three different dimensions: building technologies, including on-site renewable energies for the decarbonisation of the energy supply; occupants’ behaviour; and policies. In particular, the adoption of innovative building technologies for energy efficiency and renewable energy is necessary but not sufficient to reduce energy consumption to reach carbon neutrality. The chapter highlights the role of energy sufficiency as an innovative strategy to complement efficiency and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector.

Keywords: Energy Efficiency; Energy Sufficiency; Barriers to Investments; Net Zero-energy Buildings; Policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035310401
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