Potentials for decoupling housing-related environmental impacts from economic growth

The notion of decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation has been well established in academic debates on growth and sustainability, and has been emphasized in political rhetoric. From a theoretical perspective, this paper critically discusses the potentials of different decoupling mechanisms to counteract the eco-destructive effects of housing sector and economic growth. The mechanisms by which housing-related environmental impacts can be decoupled from economic growth are: substituting for growth in the housing sector, increasing the economic value of the housing stock via qualitative improvement, and improving eco-efficiency of residential buildings. These decoupling strategies are subject to limitations, and the technological, political and social presuppositions for the operation of the decoupling mechanisms in order to reach a sufficient level of decoupling degree seem to be difficult to meet. A transition from the growth paradigm to degrowth is necessary for environmental sustainability, and proper policies should be in place for a socially sustainable degrowth.

► Potentials of decoupling environmental impacts from housing sector growth are discussed.
► Decoupling mechanisms are: substitution, qualitative improvement and eco-efficiency.
► The decoupling strategies are subject to technological, political and social limitations.
► It is essential to transit to the degrowth paradigm for environmental sustainability.