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Monthly Facts - June 2008

• Construction and operation of buildings accounts for 30% of the UK’s energy use. (Trevor Davis, University of East Anglia, UK)
• In the UK, buildings account for 45% of the country’s carbon emissions (27% domestic and 18% nondomestic), mainly the result of heating buildings and water. (Technology Strategy Board; www.mbektn.org)
• In the UK, 32% of landfill waste comes from the construction and demolition of buildings, with 13% of construction site materials sent to landfill without even being used. (Technology Strategy Board; www.mbektn.org)
• Closing windows and removing empty roof racks from cars could lower fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions by up to 10%. (European Commission; www.savemorethanfuel.eu/)
• "By the end of the decade, global green industries will be worth in the order of £350 billion a year.” John Hutton, UK Government Business Secretary.
• Investment in energy efficiency in 2004: $300 billion. (The Size of the US Energy Efficiency Market: Generating a More Complete Picture, American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy; www.aceee.org)
• By 2030, Asia-Pacific will account for 50% of the global energy demand, the majority coming from fossil fuel sources. (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); www.unescap.org/)