Summary: In a report released November 29, McKinsey & Company analyzed more than 250 options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. over the next 25 years. The report identified five “clusters of abatement potential,” the most cost-efficient of which is “Buildings and Appliances.” By advancing several areas of promising technology, the report finds that building design could report “negative cost” by 2030, meaning that implementation of these technologies would result in positive economic gain.

Estimating that buildings and appliances could account for 20 percent of the 4.5 gigatons of abatement per year by 2030—greater than the potential savings from like efforts in industry, carbon sinks (e.g., increased forest land), and transportation and second only to power production—the McKinsey report concludes:

“This large cluster of negative-cost options includes: lighting retrofits; improved heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, building envelopes, and building control systems; higher performance for consumer and office electronics/appliances, among other options. While this category of abatement options would cost the least from a societal point of view, persistent barriers to market efficiency will need to be overcome.”

This conclusion is in keeping with the 2030 Challenge initiated by Ed Mazria, FAIA, and adopted by the AIA at the AIA 2005 National Convention.