World Refugee Day: climate change and displacement
In mid-2023, 110 million people were displaced worldwide - a significant increase from 82.4 million in 2021. According to the UNHCR's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), one third of these displacements are climate-related. Floods, droughts, storms - on top of current wars - are forcing people to leave their homes. This is the highest number in a decade. These figures highlight the urgent need to identify and implement effective measures to tackle the climate crisis.
Climate change: a growing driver of refugee movements
Indeed, climate change is a global flashpoint that could force as many as 200 million people to flee their homes by 2050. Environmental disasters, such as floods and droughts, cause immediate loss of habitat and livelihoods. But they also exacerbate social and economic tensions that ultimately trigger migratory movements.
To date, the Geneva Refugee Convention does not recognise climate or environmental refugees as such. As a result, these people often have to make do without the international protection status granted to war refugees or politically persecuted people. This is a gap in international law.
One of the most urgent measures in the fight against climate change is to reduce CO2 emissions. This goal is central to limiting global warming and, hopefully, to reducing the frequency and intensity of climate-related natural disasters. The focus on CO2 reduction is therefore also a humanitarian concern, aimed at minimising the scale of climate-induced refugee movements
The building sector: a key area for reducing emissions
The building sector is one of the world's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. The construction and operation of buildings is responsible for almost 40 percent of global CO2 emissions. This high burden highlights the need to design, build and operate buildings in a more sustainable way. This requires the cooperation of all stakeholders: politics, society and business.
One key lies in the development and implementation of advanced technologies that contribute to the sustainability of buildings. One emission-intensive area in buildings, for example, is water heating. Water quality is a sensitive issue. Even clean water is never sterile and always contains micro-organisms such as legionella. Their growth is particularly favoured at temperatures between 20 and 45 degrees Celsius. Breathing in water containing bacteria as an aerosol can lead to Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia. Cases of Legionnaires' disease are diagnosed worldwide. Until now, drinking water has had to be kept at a minimum temperature of 55 degrees Celsius in pipes to prevent the bacteria from multiplying. However, the energy required to do this is considerable and contributes significantly to emissions from the building sector. For example, heating hot water for a four-person household currently costs up to 3,200 kWh per year. This equates to around 16 percent of total annual energy consumption, and can be as high as 50 percent in modern buildings.
Innovative research projects are investigating solutions for safely heating drinking water to significantly lower temperatures. The projects are investigating different technologies to prevent the growth of legionella and to enable operation at lower hot water temperatures. The combination of lower temperatures and drinking water hygiene will make regenerative heat generators much more efficient in the future, using less energy overall. The combination of hygiene and energy efficiency is a cornerstone for a green future in the building sector and provides crucial support for SDGs 6 and 11.
Education and digitalisation: key strategies for reducing co2 emissions
In addition to research and development, knowledge transfer plays a crucial role in the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions. To achieve the necessary technological and practical changes in the construction industry, it is necessary to share and disseminate knowledge about energy-efficient and low-emission technologies.
This includes the area of digital construction, as digitising the construction process saves resources. Not only can buildings be designed and constructed more quickly and efficiently, but their renovation and maintenance is also greatly simplified. One example is Building Information Modelling (BIM), where data is collected in a 3D computer model. This makes it possible to identify potential errors at an early stage, which can then be avoided in the subsequent construction process. A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics has shown that the use of BIM can reduce CO2 emissions in the construction industry by up to 50 per cent. Despite its enormous potential, BIM is not yet widely used.
Conclusion: taking responsibility on world refugee day
Today, on World Refugee Day, it is important to recognise and address the link between climate change and global refugee movements. This includes clearly identifying areas for active emissions reduction - such as the construction sector.
Through a combination of innovative research and active knowledge transfer, companies in the construction sector can contribute at various levels. However, companies cannot achieve this alone. Ultimately, it will take the commitment of all parts of society, business and politics to curb global warming.
