Increasing the solar reflectance—or albedo—of the built environment is emerging as a powerful strategy to combat climate change and urban heat, as reported in the white paper recently published by Climate Resolve. Concrete pavements, with their natural ability to reflect more sunlight than darker materials like asphalt, offer a sustainable solution to mitigate extreme heat. As cities grow and temperatures rise, integrating high-albedo pavements into infrastructure can provide both local and global benefits.
Research spanning 25 years highlights how high-albedo surfaces reduce surface and air temperatures in urban areas while also addressing global warming by improving the Earth’s energy balance. By reflecting more solar radiation back into space, these materials decrease the heat absorbed by urban infrastructure, mitigating the warming effect of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. Despite these benefits, policies and investments have primarily focused on energy efficiency gains rather than the broader climate benefits of albedo-enhancing projects.
Concrete pavements are uniquely positioned to lead the way in high-albedo implementation. Unlike traditional asphalt surfaces that absorb significant solar energy, concrete’s reflective properties reduce urban heat and lower cooling demands for nearby structures. Moreover, advanced construction standards and pilot projects could expand the use of reflective materials, particularly in regions facing intense heat waves. Incorporating albedo-enhancing initiatives into government funding, zoning regulations, and construction codes would accelerate this transition, fostering widespread adoption.
Looking ahead, the potential for market-based solutions, such as green finance and albedo-based offsets in greenhouse gas regulatory systems, offers new pathways to scale these efforts. These mechanisms could unlock private capital to fund reflective surface projects in underserved communities, ensuring equitable climate benefits. With concrete pavements at the forefront of these initiatives, the construction industry has a vital role to play in cooling cities, enhancing public health, and reducing the environmental impact of urbanization.
Read more here: https://www.climateresolve.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Shine-On-White-Paper.pdf