Removing and storing carbon in the built environment Green and grey solutions

This paper investigates the potential of the combined use of ‘green’ and ‘grey’ solutions for removing and storing carbon in the interventions to regenerate the building stock, as relates to the goal, dictated by European policies, of halving carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The issue is of great scientific importance in light of the European and national strategies and policies illustrated in the Next Generation UE Plan and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza – PNRR). In particular, the paper illustrates the developments of research initiated by the Research Unit at ‘Sapienza’ University of Rome in the context of the PRIN (project of overriding national interest) ‘TECH START’ Research and of the ‘Climate-Pandemic-Proof Design’ Research, funded by ‘Sapienza’ University. This research was carried forward through the experimental application, in a public housing neighbourhood in Rome, of ‘green’ solutions (green infrastructures) and ‘grey’ solutions (CO2 absorbing and low embodied carbon materials) working in synergy, systematically assessing their impact in terms of reducing climate-altering emissions from the current state.