Last autumn’s COP26 climate conference was supposed to be a watershed moment for the net zero agenda. Building attended the event in Glasgow, and saw at first hand how a sense of optimism was pervading the construction sector. The pandemic seemed to be ending, the stars had aligned, and the time had arrived for firms to transform themselves into greener, more efficient and more sustainable operations that were fit for the future.

The mood was driven by successes in the political arena, with governments agreeing targets covering 80% of the world’s carbon emissions. Deforestation, methane emissions and coal production all saw deals which represented major leaps forward. For construction, the market pressure implied by this could not be misunderstood: net zero was now not only morally non-negotiable, it was a matter of long-term commercial survival.

Despite a last-minute row with India and China over whether coal should be “phased out” or “phased down”, the stage seemed to be set for a rapid acceleration of net zero policies in the months ahead. Few, if anyone, foresaw that the biggest European war in 75 years was about to change everything.

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