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A Global Survey of Building Energy Efficiency Policies in Cities

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A Global Survey of Building Energy Efficiency Policies in Cities Urban Efficiency: A Global Survey of Building Energy Efficiency Policies in Cities Contents Foreword from C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Foreword from Tokyo Metropolitan Government Executive Summary 1. A macro view of city-level policies 2. Objectives and methodology 3. Policy maps and global trends 3.1 Overview 3.2 Global trends illustrated by policy maps 3.2.1 Building energy codes 3.2.2 Reporting and benchmarking of energy performance data 3.2.3 Mandatory auditing and retro-commissioning 3.2.4 Emissions trading schemes 3.2.5 Green building rating and energy performance labelling 3.2.6 Financial incentives 3.2.7 Non-financial incentives 3.2.8 Awareness raising programmes 3.2.9 Promoting green leases 3.2.10 Voluntary leadership programmes 3.2.11 Government leadership 3.2.12 Other 4. Experiences from frontrunner cities 4.1 Overview 4.2 Case studies 4.2.1 Hong Kong 4.2.2 Houston 4.2.3 Melbourne 4.2.4 New York City 4.2.5 Philadelphia 4.2.6 San Francisco 4.2.7 Seattle 4.2.8 Singapore 4.2.9 Sydney 4.2.10 Tokyo 4.3 Analysis 4.3.1 Key characteristics 4.3.2 Inputs during design and implementation phase 4.3.3 Results and impacts 4.3.4 Success factors 4.3.5 Key challenges 4.3.6 Future perspectives 5. Conclusions Acknowledgements Appendices 1. List of web-based databases including information on energy efficiency policies and/or action worldwide 2. Policy map - City-led programmes 3. Questionnaire sent to cities for case studies 4. Metrics for accounting for multiple benefits of building energy efficiency 5. List of cities pictured on the cover and contents page Foreword Buildings shape the iconic skylines of our global megacities. For many of these cities, buildings also hold the key to tackling climate change. Building energy use is one of the leading sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in cities – almost half of the emissions from member cities of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) come from energy consumed in buildings1. The importance of building energy efficiency is indisputable. It cuts emissions, it cuts energy bills, and it can bring a whole host of additional benefits: healthier workplaces, new jobs and greater energy security, to name but a few. However, although the benefits of efficient buildings are obvious, time and resources are often in short supply in city administrations, and city officials need to know quickly what has worked in other cities, and how exactly it was achieved. And, if they run up against barriers, they need allies. Tokyo co-leads a network of cities committed not only to tackling energy efficiency in their own buildings, but also to collaborating with others so they can take faster action, and have more impact. The Private Building Efficiency Network is one of 15 networks run by C40, a group of the world’s megacities taking action on climate change together. Each network links officials working on a different aspect of climate change, such as waste or transport. Cities in the Private Building Efficiency Network are already pioneering new policies for their buildings, often moving faster than nations or regions. Despite this, there is an evidence gap on what is happening at the city level. It was through discussions with fellow members of the Network that Tokyo saw the need to capture best practice from cities around the world, and share it. The resulting report, Urban Efficiency: A Global Survey of Building Energy Efficiency Policies in Cities, is a compelling example of C40 cities collaborating, freely sharing their information for the collective good. It was made possible by the foresight and generosity of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and C40 is privileged to be a partner. For a city just starting out in energy efficiency, this report offers a menu of possibilities. For a city in the midst of implementation, it’s a guide to finding solutions to common challenges. For a city that has just completed a programme, it’s an inspiration of where to go next. For the rest of the world, it’s concrete proof of how C40 cities are leading the way on climate change solutions. Zoe Sprigings, C40, Head of the Energy Initiative 1 C40 Climate Leadership Group and Arup (2011) Climate Action in Megacities 1.0. 1 Foreword In Tokyo, we take the challenge of climate change very seriously. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has set a target to reduce citywide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 25% and energy consumption by 20% below 2000 levels by 2020. Carbon emissions from the building sector account for a significant portion of Tokyo’s total emissions, and so our climate change policy and programmes focus on the building sector as a matter of course. To achieve these targets, promoting energy efficiency in existing buildings is essential. In 2010 we introduced a cap-and-trade carbon emissions scheme which sets mandatory targets for large buildings. This has been successfully implemented. Nonetheless, more work is still needed to encourage smaller buildings and residential buildings to use energy efficiently. Information and experiences from other major cities are very relevant to us, and participating in C40’s Private Building Efficiency Network provides us with a wonderful opportunity to learn. Moreover, given an increasing urban population and growing emissions from buildings, city alliances to promote energy efficiency in buildings seem crucial for tackling climate change globally. Therefore, Tokyo sees great value in being a part of the Private Building Efficiency Network and is happy to be a lead city with Sydney. This Network continues to grow and now has dozens of active members, spanning Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Member cities are learning from one another through webinars, conference calls, the sharing of useful documents and materials, and undertaking joint research and projects to extend our knowledge. Meeting in person in Houston (2013) and Tokyo (2014) has helped to build mutual trust among members, which leads to quality discussions and precious information sharing. The research for this Urban Efficiency report was initially conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in preparation for the 2014 C40 Tokyo workshop, in order to enable a discussion about various private sector building energy efficiency policies. Through documenting the experiences of cities, we can identify our common issues and challenges, and also get inspired by great ideas which we can then take home and implement in our cities. We really hope this report will be a great reference not only for the Network members, but also for other colleagues in cities around the world who also recognise the importance of building energy efficiency. Yuko Nishida, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government 2 Executive Summary Urban Efficiency: A Global Survey of Building Energy Efficiency Policies in Cities is a resource for city officials around the world as they design new policies for building energy efficiency, or review existing ones. The research should help close the evidence gap regarding city-level activity in building energy efficiency. As such, it is designed to be accessible to those working in the field in general, including researchers. The Urban Efficiency report’s specific objectives are: to begin to capture the range of different policies being implemented in cities around the world; to obtain detailed information on the necessary conditions, opportunities and potential challenges when introducing and implementing such initiatives; and to analyse what approaches have been successful in which context and why. This research is not an exhaustive study of all cities promoting building energy efficiency policies. Instead, it focuses on a readily available selection of pioneering cities that are active members of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group’s Private Building Efficiency Network. C40 is a unique coalition of large cities around the world committed to addressing climate change locally and globally. Within the C40 are smaller working groups – or networks – of cities focused on specific topics. A combination of methods was used to produce this research: literature review, written questionnaires, semi-structured telephone interviews and analysis of key documents. The report is organised into chapters focusing on broader trends followed by specific city case studies. Chapter 1, ‘A macro view of city-level policies’, provides an overview of global trends in building energy efficiency among C40 cities, illustrated with findings from C40’s landmark research report, Climate Action in Megacities 2.0. Chapter 2, ‘Objectives and methodology’, sets out more detail regarding the rationale of this research, and how it was executed. Chapter 3, ‘Policy maps and global trends’, identifies global trends in city-led initiatives for building energy efficiency as highlighted in case studies from Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, 3 Seattle, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto. Twelve ‘policy elements’ are documented in two policy maps, one for new buildings and one for existing buildings. See Table 3.1 Definition of policy elements for more information. The key conclusions are as follows: Building energy codes Many cities around the world develop their own codes for new buildings and major renovations that are broader or more stringent than national or state codes. In the US, for example, some cities set codes that are stricter or wider in scope than the state codes. Australian cities follow state codes, while European cities implement the national energy codes required by European Union (EU) directive requirements or stricter energy codes. For instance, when building on city-owned land, Stockholm applies stricter energy codes through civil contracts between the City and the builders. In Japan, as the national code has yet to be mandated, Tokyo has its own more ambitious requirement of submitting a plan with minimum energy efficiency performance specifications for large facilities.
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