Accelerating an Ecosystem
Principal Authors
Julie Kriegh, PhD, AIA,Research Scientist for CLF
Chris Magwood, Director, Endeavor Center
Wil Srubar III, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
Il potenziale di un impatto climatico significativo attraverso i materiali che fungono da pozzi di assorbimento del carbonio offre ora a tali materiali un chiaro vantaggio, con la possibilità di invertire il profilo climatico degli edifici da principale fattore di emissioni di carbonio a serbatoi di carbonio che possono aiutare a invertirlo.
Recent recognition of the severity of the climate crisis and the need for major, impactful interventions has accelerated interest in low-carbon and carbon-storing materials that can redress the significant upfront emissions associated with conventional building materials. Decades of previous work to develop, improve, and implement these materials now provide a strong base of research, product development, and case studies that can support the drive to bring these materials to market quickly and help meet global climate targets.
Past experience with low-carbon and carbon-storing building materials has shown that specification and use of materials are indeed feasible and can match conventional alternatives in terms of cost, code compliance, and construction schedules. However, the significant investments required to scale many of these materials has largely impaired their shift into the mainstream. The potential for meaningful climate impact through materials that serve as carbon sinks now gives such materials a clear advantage, with the potential to reverse the climate profile of buildings from a leading driver of carbon emissions to carbon reservoirs that can help reverse it.
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