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Buildings and Climate Change Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative BUILDINGS AND CLIMATE CHANGE Summary for Decision Makers ROGRAMME P NVIRONMENT E ATIONS N NITED U Design and layout by Thad Mermer, the Graphic Environment • http://www.tge.ca Copyright © United Nations Environment Programme, 2009 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme. Disclaimer The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Environment Programme concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or UNEP area or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed promotes environ- do not necessarily represent the decision or the mentally sound practices stated policy of the United Nations Environment globally. This document is pub- Programme, nor does citing of trade names or commercial processes constitute endorsement. lished in electronic format only thereby eliminating the use of paper, ink, and transport emissions. You are encouraged print it only when absolutely necessary. UNEP will print the document on de- mand on 100% recycled paper. BUILDINGS AND CLIMATE CHANGE Summary for Decision Makers Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative UNEP DTIE Sustainable Consumption & Production Branch 15 Rue de Milan 75441 Paris CEDEX 09, France Tel: +33 1 4437 1450 Fax: +33 1 4437 1474 E-mail: [email protected] www.unep.fr/scp/sun 1 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements Contributing Authors Editors Pekka Huovila and Mia Ala-Juusela (VTT Technical • Jenny Yamamoto, UNEP Consultant Re-search Centre, Finland); Luciana Melchert • Peter Graham, United Nations Environment (Sustainable Building and Urban Design Expert, Programme Sustainable Buildings & Climate Brazil); and Stéphane Pouffary (ADEME – French Initiative (UNEP-SBCI) & Faculty of the Built Agency for Environment and Energy Management, Environment, University of New South Wales, and chairman for the SBCI Think Tank on Climate Australia Change); Dr. Chia-Chin Cheng, UNEP Risoe Centre for Energy & Climate Change; Professor Diana Design & Layout Urge-Vorsatz & Sonja Koeppel, Central European Thad Mermer, The Graphic Environment University, Hungary; Niclas Svenningsen, UNEP, Peter Graham, UNEP. Expert Review Panel Dr. Wynn Chi-Nguyen Cam Principle Architect RSP Architects Singapore Dr. Greg Foliente Principle Research Scientist Commonwealth Science & Industry Research Organisation, Australia Dr. Peter Graham Co-ordinator Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative UNEP – DTIE , Paris, & University of New South Wales, Australia Mr. Jean Robert Mazaud President BLUE holding S.A., France Dr. Rodney Milford Director Construction Industry Development Board, South Africa Mr. Stephane Pouffary Head of the International Expertise ADEME, France in Energy Management Unit Mr. Peter Rawlings Principal Environmental Resources Management Limited Dr. Faridah Shafii Director Centre for Sustainable Construction & Tall Buildings, Institute Sultan Iskandar, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Mr. Niclas Svenningsen Head, S.U.N. Unit UNEP – Division of Technology, Industry & Economics Dr. Kaarin Taipale Chairperson Marrakech Task Force on Sustainable Buildings and Construction, Finland Dr. Diana Urge-Vorsatz Director Center for Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Policy (3CSEP) & Professor - Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy - Central European University Dr. Ir. Iksan Van Der Putte Director External Relations/ RPS Groep B.V., The Netherlands’, Chair of Sustainability International Environmental Affairs International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) Ms. Maria Atkinson Global Head of Sustainability Lend Lease Corporation Dr. Odon de Buen Consultant Mexico This report was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme – Sustainable Buildings & Climate Initiative. 2 Preface Preface Today, it is widely accepted that human activities This Summary for Decision-Makers presents the are contributing to climate change. The Fourth current state of thinking on how the potential for Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental greenhouse gas emission reductions in buildings Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated that can be realized. It has been compiled by the between 1970 and 2004, global greenhouse gas Sustainable Building and Climate Initiative (SBCI), emissions due to human activities rose by 70 a UNEP-hosted partnership between the UN and percent (IPCC, 2007). While the full implications of public and private stakeholders in the Building climate change are not fully understood, scientific Sector, which promotes sustainable building evidence suggests that it is a causal factor in rising practices globally. One of UNEP-SBCI’s key sea levels, increased occurrence of severe weather objectives is to ensure that Parties to the United events, food shortages, changing patterns of Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change disease, severe water shortages and the loss of (UNFCCC) have the information needed to support tropical forests. Most experts agree that over the the mitigation of building-related greenhouse next few decades, the world will undergo potentially gas emissions. This report is based on research dangerous changes in climate, which will have a conducted by the UNEP-SBCI under the guidance significant impact on almost every aspect of our of its Climate Change Think Tank and in cooperation environment, economies and societies. with the Finnish research institute VTT, the Central European University in Hungary, the Marrakech Task It is estimated that at present, buildings contribute Force of Sustainable Buildings and Construction, as much as one third of total global greenhouse and the UNEP Risø Centre on Energy, Climate gas emissions, primarily through the use of fossil and Sustainable Development. The results of this fuels during their operational phase. Past efforts to research have been published in three reports: address these emissions have had a mixed record Buildings and Climate Change – Status, Challenges of success, although there are many examples and Opportunities (UNEP, 2007), Assessment of which show that carefully considered and properly Policy Instruments for Reducing Greenhouse Gas funded policies can achieve significant reductions. Emissions from Buildings (UNEP-SBCI, 2007), The new international agreement which will be and The Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development negotiated at Copenhagen in December 2009 Mechanism and the Building Sector (UNEP, 2008). provides decision makers with an unprecedented UNEP-SBCI will continue to facilitate and support opportunity to incorporate emissions from buildings the implementation of these recommendations, into a global strategy on climate change. However, and welcomes other stakeholders and interested if the desired targets for greenhouse gas emissions partners to join it in this endeavor. reduction are to be met, Decision-Makers have to tackle emissions from the Building Sector with much greater seriousness and vigor than they have to date. They need to make the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings the cornerstone of every national climate change strategy. 3 Key Messages and Priorities for COP 15 6 KEY MESSAGES FOR COP 15 The building sector has the most Countries will not meet emission potential for delivering significant reduction targets without supporting and cost-effective GHG emission energy efficiency gains in the building 1 reductions. 2 sector. Proven policies, technologies and The building industry is committed to knowledge already exist to deliver action and in many countries is already deep cuts in building related GHG playing a leading role. 3 emissions. 4 Failure to encourage energy-efficiency Significant co-benefits including and low-carbon when building new employment will be created by policies or retrofitting will lock countries into that encourage energy efficient and the disadvantages of poor performing low-emission building activity. 5 6 buildings for decades. 4 PRIORITIES TO BE ADDRESSED Supporting energy efficiency and GHG Prioritise the building sector as key emission reduction programmes in the to meeting national GHG emission building sector must be recognised as reduction targets. 1 2 a NAMA. Develop baselines for building-related CDM must be reformed to support GHG emissions using a consistent investment in energy efficient building international approach to performance programmes in developing countries. 3 4 monitoring and reporting. 4 Contents Table of Contents Eight Key Messages for Decision Makers 6 1 The Contribution of Buildings to Climate Change 8 2 “Building Blocks” for Developing Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Strategies for the Building Sector 16 3 Policy Options for Reducing Emissions from Buildings 22 Target 1: Improve the Energy Efficiency of Buildings 23 Target 2: Improve the Energy Efficiency of Household and Business Appliances 27 Target 3: Encourage Energy Generation and Distribution Companies to Support Emission Reductions in the Building Sector 29 Target 4: Changes in Attitudes and Behavior
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