Global scenarios of resource and emission savings from material efficiency in residential buildings and cars

Material production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Resource-efficiency and circular-economy strategies, both industry and demand-focused, promise emission reductions through reducing material use, but detailed assessments of their GHG reduction potential are lacking. We present a global-scale analysis of material efficiency for passenger vehicles and residential buildings. We estimate future changes in material flows and energy use due to increased yields, light design, material substitution, extended service life, and increased service efficiency, reuse, and recycling. Together, these strategies can reduce cumulative global GHG emissions until 2050 by 20-52 Gt CO2-eq (residential buildings) and 13-26 Gt CO(2)e-eq (passenger vehicles), depending on policy assumptions. Next to energy efficiency and low-carbon energy supply, material efficiency is the third pillar of deep decarbonization for these sectors. For residential buildings, wood construction and reduced floorspace show the highest potential. For passenger vehicles, it is ride sharing and car sharing. Material production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Here, the authors show that resource efficiency and circular-economy strategies can allow for cumulative emission reductions of 20-52 Gt CO2-eq from residential buildings and 13-26 Gt CO2e-eq from cars by 2050.

Automated summary

Material production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Resource efficiency and circular economy strategies have the potential to reduce cumulative emissions by 20-52 Gt CO2-eq from residential buildings and 13-26 Gt CO2e-eq from cars by 2050.