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The building sector is responsible for 39% of process-related greenhouse gas emissions globally, making net- or nearly-zero energy buildings pivotal for reaching climate neutrality. This article reviews recent advances in key options and strategies for converting the building sector to be climate neutral. The evidence from the literature shows it is possible to achieve net or nearly-zero energy building outcomes across the world in most building types and climates with systems, technologies, and skills that already exist, and at costs that are in the range of conventional buildings. Maximizing energy efficiency for all building energy uses is found as central to net zero targets. Jurisdictions all over the world, including Brussels, New York, Vancouver, and Tyrol, have innovated visionary policies to catalyze the success of such buildings, with more than 7 million square meters of nearly-zero energy buildings erected in China alone in the past few years. Since embodied carbon in building materials can consume up to a half of the remaining 1.5°C carbon budget, this article reviews recent advances to minimize embodied energy and store carbon in building materials. ; This work was partially funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades de Es-paña (RTI2018-093849-B-C31 - MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE). The authors at the University ofLleida would like to thank the Catalan Government for the quality accreditation given to theirresearch group GREiA (2017 SGR 1537). GREiA is a certified agent TECNIO in the category oftechnology developers from the Catalan Government. This work is partially supported by ICREAunder the ICREA Academia program.Passive House Canada and specifically Chris Ballard partially supported this work throughvolunteer and staff time. Special thanks to Klemens Schloegl from TU Vienna for his valuabledata and insights on the topic. R.K. is grateful for support from the Oxford Martin School and forthe excellent research assistance from Sharmen Hettipola

Contributed articles

Recurrent heat waves, already a concern in rapidly growing and urbanizing South Asia, will very likely worsen in a warming world. Coordinated adaptation efforts can reduce heat's adverse health impacts, however. To address this concern in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India), a coalition has been formed to develop an evidence-based heat preparedness plan and early warning system. This paper describes the group and initial steps in the plan's development and implementation. Evidence accumulation included extensive literature review, analysis of local temperature and mortality data, surveys with heat-vulnerable populations, focus groups with health care professionals, and expert consultation. The findings and recommendations were encapsulated in policy briefs for key government agencies, health care professionals, outdoor workers, and slum communities, and synthesized in the heat preparedness plan. A 7-day probabilistic weather forecast was also developed and is used to trigger the plan in advance of dangerous heat waves. The pilot plan was implemented in 2013, and public outreach was done through training workshops, hoardings/billboards, pamphlets, and print advertisements. Evaluation activities and continuous improvement efforts are ongoing, along with plans to explore the program's scalability to other Indian cities, as Ahmedabad is the first South Asian city to address heat-health threats comprehensively.