Building Decarbonization

The Clean Energy Transition Institute kicked off 2022 with Operation 2030: Scaling Building Decarbonization in Washington State to identify the time-critical strategic decisions and actions that Washington must take in the 2020s to meet its transformational building decarbonization targets by 2050.

The buildings sector includes residential buildings (houses and apartments) as well as commercial buildings (offices, malls, stores, schools, hospitals, hotels, warehouses, restaurants, and places of worship and public assembly). Emissions in this sector largely result from the use of natural gas and electricity and can be addressed through a range of decarbonization strategies, including electrification and energy efficiency.  

Not counting the emissions associated with the production of electricity used in the sector, residential and commercial buildings account for approximately 14% of total Northwest emissions. Building emissions account for the following proportion of each of the four Northwest states individually: Idaho-19%; Montana-11%; Oregon-13%; and Washington-14%. (For additional analysis of the region’s emissions data, please consult our Northwest Clean Energy Atlas).