Energy-Saving Buildings Play Big Role In Solving Climate Change

Photo: Flickr, *Yueh-Hua 2009

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The importance of energy-efficient buildings in mitigating effects of climate change was highlighted Friday at the climate conference taking place in Copenhagen. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report Dec. 11 urging that buildings be considered as a major component of any strategy concerning emissions reduction.

UNEP’s report, "Buildings and Climate Change - Summary for Decision Makers,” emphasizes that buildings are an untapped area of great potential to thwart climate change. The report is a result of three years of study by UNEP's Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (SBCI), a think tank and partnership between the United Nations and leading companies and organizations in the building sector.

Buildings account for more than 30 percent of worldwide energy use. However, buildings present huge possibilities to reduce energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, buildings generate the equivalent of 8.6 billion tons of CO2 a year, according to the report, and this amount is expected to nearly double over the next two decades. Population growth and urbanization are cited as the impetus for new construction growth.

For example, new construction in China over the next ten years will be so prolific that it will equal the size of all existing buildings in the United States, the report says. Investment in new buildings is also expected in South Africa. UNEP warns booms like these will likely double the amount of pollution associated with energy use in buildings.

Along with the report, the climate summit served as the debut of SBCI’s global Common Carbon Metric for Buildings to measure energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of buildings. The new metrics were created in conjunction with the International Energy Agency, International Standardization organization, World Green Building Council, International Initiative for the Sustainable Built Environment and Sustainable Buildings Alliance as well as private sector companies and associations.