Carbon trading markets in the US are at a pre-inception stage: those in Europe (including the forthcoming EU-wide scheme) are targeted at large industrial emitters. None as yet are specifically addressed at the construction sector. But there is good reason that they should: in the US, for example (fig. 3) CO2 emissions from commercial buildings have risen in the last decade faster than in any other sector.

Fig. 3: increase in US CO2 emissions by sector, 1990-2001.

Buildings — especially new buildings — have not been well represented to date in the UK trading system

• 90% of incentive money went to 10 organisations, mostly in chemical/petrochemical sector

• building-related projects were among the smallest in the first round (March 2002)

• one successful bidder: a group of building managers from 6 universities — at least one (Cambridge) has since dropped out, citing inflexibility of scheme

• most building-related projects for plant retrofit, CHP

• building sector participants anticipate non-financial benefits