Net-Zero: What Was Thought Impossible is Slowly Gaining Ground

By path2positive

Half of the world’s population resides in cities. With increasing greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel consumption, and a seemingly insatiable appetite for energy, these urban environments are major drivers of climate change. However, where many see cities as environmental blemishes, community leaders see opportunity.

Visionaries and community leaders around the globe are developing ways of building net-zero cities. These metropolitan areas integrate cutting edge technology, energy efficient materials and appliances, and even simple planning and design techniques that are often overlooked—all of which lead to the local creation of more energy than is consumed. Net-zero developments rely upon a paradigmatic shift in how buildings are designed. Traditional architecture must give way to a more collaborative approach, whereby experts from across a diverse spectrum of disciplines contribute to the overall design of the community.

While not easily implemented, many net-zero communities are beginning to crop up across the country. Universities have been among the earliest and most committed adopters, however, military bases, a national historic site, and a mixed-use neighborhood are also developing net-zero communities. Their efforts show that a commitment to even very challenging climate solutions can yield positive results. To learn more about successfully implementing a climate action plan, visit Path to Positive for resources.


Net-Zero Cities Aren’t Possible, You Say? Some Are Underway Today.

By Jonathan Rowe | Line/ Shape/ Space | July 15, 2015

Today, more than half of the world’s population calls a city home. And over the next few decades, that number is projected to rise.

From an environmental perspective, cities are already responsible for the majority of the planet’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. To meaningfully battle climate change and stay within our carbon budget, getting things right at the urban scale is critical.

Internet of Things (IoT) visionaries imagine a future where a “smart” electricity grid communicates bidirectionally with smart buildings wired with sophisticated sensing and controls technology. With this kind of setup, net-zero energy buildings—hyper-efficient structures that produce as much energy from renewable sources as they consume from the utility annually—could easily be the norm. But this is pretty far out on the horizon.

Read More 

Subscribe

Stay connected and get updates from Path to Positive.

Subscribe

You May Also Like

June 1, 2023

Young people are leading the climate movement. They have the most at stake, but also the greatest vision for what is needed to secure their...

Read More

May 19, 2023

Photo credit: McKenna Dunbar Editor’s note: This post was written by P2P Climate Ambassador Richard Sebastian describing a community action he organized to highlight the...

Read More

May 4, 2023

  May is National Bike Month, so dust off your favorite pair of wheels and join in! In this episode of Let’s Talk Climate, we...

Read More
positive-white

 

Path to Positive is a program of ecoAmerica

 

© ecoAmerica 2006 – 2022 The contents of this website may be shared and used under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License.