Energy efficiency, resilience to future climates and long-term sustainability: The role of the built environment

Abstract

Just under half of all energy consumption in the UK today takes place indoors, and over a quarter within our homes. The challenges associated with energy security, climate change and sustainable consumption will be overcome or lost in our existing buildings. A background analysis, and the scale of the engineering challenge for the next three to four decades, is described in this paper. © 2010 The Royal Society.