Housing is a major contributor to climate change with buildings constituting 36% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (21% from housing alone) and 40% of global energy consumption.
Housing is a major contributor to climate change with buildings constituting 40% of global energy consumption.
Every year, Europe builds 15 million new dwellings. Despite all that new construction, housing inequality continues to grow in Europe with 700,000 people homeless and many more fearing eviction because rents have outpaced incomes, sharply increasing in the last few years, by up to 40% in cities like Berlin and Lisbon.
Large numbers of households live in sub-standard housing and 35 million suffer from energy poverty.
The housing and climate crises are inextricably linked, and both crises are made worse by the financialization of housing. The human right to housing framework exists at the crucial intersection of health, climate, and economics, recognizing that our goals in all three must collectively support each other. The Shift is working hard to challenge the financialization of housing and address these dual crises.
