Carbon storage in the built environment: a review

Abstract

With a rapidly decreasing carbon budget, the urgency of deep greenhouse gas reductions becomes increasingly necessary. This accentuates the need for the emerging paradigm shift, transforming the built environment from a major source of CO2 emissions to a carbon sink. Biogenic carbon sequestration and storage (CSS) has the potential to play a pivotal role as it offers multiple pathways for cities to improve their carbon sink capacity. There are various methods used to quantify the carbon storage potential of the built environment, and there is a lack of consensus on how biogenic carbon should be treated. This review aims to elucidate the ways in which scientific literature has considered carbon storage in the built environment by drawing a picture of the existing mechanism for CSS in the urban built environment with the focus on the existing mechanism of biogenic CSS materials. Limitations and challenges of using biogenic CSS materials are identified to point out future research directions. In addition, barriers hindering wider utilization of CSS in the built environment are discussed.