What is stopping low-carbon buildings? A global review of enablers and barriers
Érika Mata, Diego Peñaloza, Filip Sandkvist, Theo Nyberg
Abstract
Low-carbon solutions for buildings are key for attaining climate targets globally, but understanding the factors influencing their adoption remains lacking. Thus, we systematically map the peer-reviewed literature including all perspectives, methodologies, solutions, and world regions to provide quantitative and narrative syntheses. We found that most studies focus on developed regions, with the biggest cluster on renewable energy in Europe. Worldwide, low-carbon material solutions are the least investigated, whereas behavioral issues and circular economy are rarely examined in developed regions. Economic, informational, and attitudinal aspects are tackled more often than socio-technical issues. Adoption is more frequently described in terms of enabling reasons than barriers. Despite proven positive environmental attitudes and willingness to adopt low-carbon solutions, these are outweighed by financial aspects all over the world. A detailed account of the findings concerning reasons and barriers for adoption is presented for different solution categories.