Achieving Zero-Carbon Buildings: Electric, Efficient, and Flexible

February 2025 | Version 1.0 The Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) is a global coalition of leaders fromacross the energy landscape committed to achieving net-zero emissions bymid-century, in line with the Paris climate objective of limiting global warmingto well below 2°C and ideally to 1.5°C. The ETC team would like to thank the ETC members,member experts and the ETC’s broader network of externalexperts for their active participation in the development ofthis report. The ETC partners with Bloomberg New EnergyFinance (BNEF) for leading market information. All BNEFdata has been sourced fromabout.bnef.com. Our Commissioners come from a range of organisations –energy producers, energy-intensive industries, technologyproviders, finance players and environmental NGOs – whichoperate across developed and developing countries andplay different roles in the energy transition. This diversityof viewpoints informs our work: our analyses are developedwith a systems perspective through extensive exchangeswith experts and practitioners. The ETC is chaired by LordAdair Turner who works with the ETC team, led by FaustineDelasalle (Vice-Chair), Ita Kettleborough (Director), andMike Hemsley (Deputy Director). The ETC Commissioners not only agree on the importanceof reaching net-zero carbon emissions from the energyand industrial systems by mid-century but also share abroad vision of how the transition can be achieved. Thefact that this agreement is possible between leaders fromcompanies and organisations with different perspectiveson and interests in the energy system should give decision-makers across the world confidence that it is possiblesimultaneously to grow the global economy and to limit globalwarming to well below 2°C. Many of the key actions to achievethese goals are clear and can be pursued without delay. The ETC’s,Achieving Zero-Carbon Buildings: Electric,Efficient and Flexible, was developed by the Commissionerswith the support of the ETC Secretariat, provided bySystemiq. This report constitutes a collective view of theEnergy Transitions Commission. Members of the ETCendorse the general thrust of the arguments made in thispublication but should not be taken as agreeing with everyfinding or recommendation. The institutions with whichthe Commissioners are affiliated have not been asked toformally endorse this briefing paper. In addition to this report and accompanying executivesummary, we will also be publishing Infographics andToolkits, outlining how to decarbonise the energy usedto operate commercial and residential buildings, reduceembodied carbon from new buildings, and accelerate thebuildings energy transition. This report should be cited as:ETC (2025),Achieving Zero-Carbon Buildings: Electric, Efficient and Flexible. Learn more at: www.energy-transitions.orgwww.linkedin.com/company/energy-transitions-commissionwww.twitter.com/ETC_energywww.youtube.com/@ETC_energy The Energy Transitions Commission is hosted by SYSTEMIQ Ltd.Copyright © 2025 SYSTEMIQ Ltd. All rights reserved.Front cover and Report design: Geist* Studio. ETC Commissioners Mr. Alistair Phillips-Davies,Chief Executive Officer – SSE Mr. Marco Alvera,Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer – TES Mr. Greg Jackson,Founder and Chief Executive Officer –Octopus Energy Mr. Andreas Regnell,Senior Vice President, Head of StrategicDevelopment – Vattenfall Mr. Bradley Andrews,Chief Executive Officer – SLR Consulting Mr. Timothy Jarratt,Group Executive, Market Development andStrategy – Ausgrid Mr. Benoit Bazin,Chairman and Chief Executive Officer – SaintGobain Mr. Menno Sanderse,Head of Strategy and Investor Relations – Rio Tinto Mr. Zou Ji,Chief Executive Officer and President of EnergyFoundation China – EF China Mr. Ahmad Butt,Executive Chairman – Deep Science Ventures Mr. Ian Simm,Founder and Chief Executive Officer – ImpaxAsset Management Mr. Shaun Kingsbury,Chief Investment Officer – Just Climate Dr. Zhao Changwen,President, Center for InternationalKnowledge on Development (CIKD), China– Center for International Knowledge onDevelopment (CIKD) Mr. Sumant Sinha,Chairman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer– ReNew Mr. Zheng Li,Executive Vice President – Institute of ClimateChange and Sustainable Development,Tsinghua University Ms. Anna Skarbek,Director, Climate Works Australia – ClimateWorks Centre Ms. Jamie Choi,Chief Executive Officer – Tara ClimateFoundation Mr. Zhenguo Li,President – LONGi Mr. Steve Smith,Interim Chief Strategy and Regulation Officerand President, National Grid Partners –National Grid Mr. John Creyts,Chief Executive Officer – Rocky MountainInstitute Mr. Martin Lindqvist,President and Chief Executive Officer – SSAB Mr. Bruce Lourie,President of the Ivey Foundation – TheTransition Accelerator Ms. Marijn Steegstra,Head of Client Coverage NL & EnergyTransition, Europe and Africa – Rabobank Mr. Spencer Dale,Chief Economist – bp Mr. Johan Lundén,Senior Vice President, Project and ProductStrategy Office – Vol