政府间气候变化专门委员会在大约二十年前同意，世界正在升温，并且这种影响是由于我们对化石燃料的依赖及其对温室气体（GHG）排放的影响而由人为引起的。造成温室气体排放的最大因素是建筑环境，占全球二氧化碳排放量的50％。英国目前的基础设施，技术和生活方式是为实现高碳经济而开发的，要以可接受的成本实现80％的减排，所有这些基础设施都必须进行重大调整。解决气候变化难题没有单一的解决方案。需要将新技术，改进的系统和不断变化的行为以及对降低碳经济的现实期望进行复杂的组合。技术的历史进步（汽车，PC，移动电话）易于使用，
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agreed some two decades ago that the world is warming up and that this effect was human-induced through our dependence on fossil fuels and their impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The biggest contributor to GHG emissions is the built environment, accounting for up to 50% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The current UK infrastructure, technologies and lifestyle were developed for a high carbon economy, to achieve an 80% emissions cut at an acceptable cost, all of this infrastructure will have to be significantly adapted.<br><br>There is no single solution to the climate change dilemma. A complex combination of new technologies, improved systems and changed behaviours, together with realistic expectations for a lower carbon economy is required. Historical advances in technology (cars, PCs, mobile phones) were easily accommodated due to the immediate benefit derived from their use. Actively making decisions to reduce energy consumption is more difficult because the benefit is futuristic and less easily measured in practical terms. The cost manifests itself in potentially unpopular lifestyle changes. Despite this, the World Commission on Environment and Development remains convinced that it is possible to build a future that is prosperous, just, and secure. This possibility relies on international cooperation, and an adoption of sustainable development objectives as a priority.