As one of the most advanced and committed cities in terms of sustainable development, the city of Paris has set for itself the ambitious goal of Net Zero Carbon by 2050. With a predominately aging real estate stock, buildings account for 70% of the capital’s greenhouse gas emissions. The effort required to achieve this goal will be considerable, but above all complex, as Paris presents particular issues and challenges. For real estate, the renovation of the existing stock will become a priority. All market players, including investors, developers and public authorities, will have to work together to complete these projects and meet this challenge.
Our latest research will help you identify the specific challenges that Paris faces, and the action required in order to become a decarbonized city by 2050.
When using the term decarbonization, we refer to the combined effort required to reduce the carbon footprint of a building throughout its full life cycle (construction, renovation, operation).
These actions require the involvement of all stakeholders (designers, builders, owners and occupiers) and apply to choices in design (performance targets, envelope quality, landscaping and biodiversity, energy mix), construction (construction materials and methods, management of site waste) as well as during the building’s operational use (monitoring tools and actions, measured approach to management and operational use).
There may be a long road ahead, but France is one of the most advanced countries in terms of regulatory change to encourage decarbonization. The private sector also needs to make the most of this framework, seeing it not as a constraint, but as a genuine opportunity for sustainable value creation.
For real estate, the clear priority needs to be the decarbonization of existing stock by renovating buildings. To meet the 2050 target, annual investments in renovation need to triple.