The renovation of the building stock in Europe: an essential opportunity to store carbon in buildings

Abstract

In the next decades, a large share of residential buildings in EU-28 is expected to be renovated and a large amount of insulation materials will be produced. Bio-based materials are a valuable alternative to insulate the buildings and the biogenic carbon can be stored in the built environment for a relative long time. This article investigates the effect of massively storing carbon in construction when different bio-based materials are used. The results show that only bio-based material with a very fast regrowth, e.g. straw, have an effective potential in removing carbon from the air in a very short-time, and can contribute to achieve the Paris Agreement goals by 2050.