Humanity will never achieve net-zero emissions by the middle of the century unless the building sector figures out how to become truly green.

Synopsis: Every first and third Sunday of the month, The Straits Times analyses the beat of the changing environment, from biodiversity conservation to climate change.

Who hasn’t escaped a scorchingly hot day by seeking refuge in a nicely chilled shopping centre? Or, for those in cold climates, in a toasty warm office or cafe?

But have you ever wondered how much energy it takes to cool, heat and power the buildings in our cities and towns? It’s a lot.

In fact, the building sector is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions – about 39 per cent of all energy-related CO2 emissions come from buildings and the materials used to construct them.

Humanity will never reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the century unless we can make buildings truly green. So, how is the building sector responding to the climate challenge?

How are building owners and managers cutting emissions and what more can they do? What regulations are there in Singapore and the region to encourage greater energy efficiency and retrofitting of older buildings to help them go from brown to green?

To learn more about this, ST's climate change editor David Fogarty hosts the Singapore-based head of ESG consulting & sustainability services at global real estate agency CBRE, who also happens to be named David Fogarty.