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  PlanetArk 30 Mar 07
"Greener" Buildings Could Slow Global Warming - UNEP
 Story by Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO - Better architecture and energy savings in buildings could do more to fight global warming than all curbs on greenhouse gases agreed under the UN's Kyoto Protocol, a UN study showed on Thursday.

Better use of concrete, metals and timber in construction and less use of energy for everything from air conditioners to lighting in homes and offices could save billions of dollars in a sector accounting for 30-40 percent of world energy use.

"Buildings can play a key role in combating climate change," the UN Environment Programme said in a report issued in Oslo during a conference on ways to promote economic growth without damaging the environment.

Simple measures include more blinds to keep out the sun in hot climates, switching to energy efficient lightbulbs, better insulation and ventilation.

"Avoid building a bigger house than you need," was among the tips. "By some conservative estimates, the building sector worldwide could deliver emission reductions of 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide," said Achim Steiner, the head of UNEP. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas.

"A more aggressive energy efficiency policy might deliver over two billion tonnes or close to three times the amount scheduled to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol," he said.

The UN's Kyoto Protocol binds 35 industrial nations to cut missions of greenhouse gases, mainly from burning fossil fuels, by about 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12 to slow a warming that may cause more heatwaves, droughts and rising seas.

But Kyoto has few incentives for more efficient buildings even though they are a big part of a problem also stoked by sectors such as transport and farming.

The report urged global action to promote greener buildings. "The savings that can be made right now are potentially huge and the costs to implement them relatively low if sufficient numbers of governments, industries, businesses and consumers act," Steiner said.

GREAT WALLS OF CHINA

The report said fast-growing developing nations needed to focus on more efficient new buildings.

China is the world's top builder, adding almost 2 billion square metres (21.53 billion sq ft) of new building space every year, it said.

"Typically construction costs increase by 3-5 percent due to the introduction of energy efficient solutions," it said.

The UNEP study is part of a project also supported by companies such as Lafarge, Skanska and Arcelor.

The report said most energy used in buildings is during their lifetimes -- from heating to lighting -- rather than in construction.

Overall, most energy is used by homes, ahead of shops, offices and other buildings such as schools or hospitals.

For builders, timber was often a cheaper and lighter-weight alternative for house frames than steel. Energy consumption in making steel was 2-3 times higher than in making glulam beams -- wood glued together and laminated for more strength.

It also recommended refurbishing old buildings rather than demolishing them and designing new buildings for long use.

The report also said there were other factors to keep in mind -- even gender. Some studies have shown women prefer higher room temperatures than men, even with similarly thick clothing.

UNEP 29 Mar 07
Buildings Can Play a Key Role in Combating Climate Change

OSLO: Significant gains can be made in efforts to combat global warming by reducing energy use and improving energy efficiency in buildings.

The right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy saving technologies and behavioural change can substantially reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the building sector which accounts for 30-40 % of global energy use, says a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Sustainable Construction and Building Initiative (SBCI).

The new report, Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities, says many opportunities exist for governments, industry and consumers to take appropriate actions during the life span of buildings that will help mitigate the impacts of global warming.

Citing the example of Europe, the report says more than one-fifth of present energy consumption and up to 45 million tonnes of CO2 per year could be saved by 2010 by applying more ambitious standards to new and existing buildings.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said:" Energy efficiency, along with cleaner and renewable forms of energy generation, is one of the pillars upon which a de-carbonized world will stand or fall. The savings that can be made right now are potentially huge and the costs to implement them relatively low if sufficient numbers of governments, industries, businesses and consumers act".

"This report focuses on the building sector. By some conservative estimates, the building sector world-wide could deliver emission reductions of 1.8 billion tonnes of C02. A more aggressive energy efficiency policy might deliver over two billion tonnes or close to three times the amount scheduled to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol," he added.

"There is more low hanging fruit to be harvested. Several countries, including Australia, Cuba and the European Union are looking to phase out or ban the traditional incandescent light bulb that has been around for well over a century in various forms.

The International Energy Agency estimates that a total global switch to compact fluorescent bulbs would, in 2010 deliver C02 savings of 470 million tonnes or slightly over half of the Kyoto reductions.

We have to ask what the hurdles are-- if any--to achieving such positive low cost change and set about decisively and swiftly to overcome them, if they exist at all," said Mr Steiner.

Key Points from the Buildings and Climate Change Report

In the life time of an average building most energy is consumed, not for construction, but during the period when the building is in use. That is, when energy is being used for heating, cooling, lighting, cooking, ventilation and so on.

Recognising this, the report pushes for a greater use of existing technologies like thermal insulation, solar shading and more efficient lighting and electrical appliances, as well as the importance of educational and awareness campaigns.

Typically more than 80% of the total energy consumption takes place during the use of buildings, and less than 20% during construction of the same.

"To achieve improved energy efficiency in buildings you often do not need to use advanced and expensive high-tech solutions, but simple solutions such as smart design, flexible energy solutions and provision of appropriate information to the building users," says Olivier Luneau, SBCI Chairman and Director for sustainability at Lafarge.

"Simple solutions can include sun shading and natural ventilation, improved insulation of the building envelope, use of recycled building materials, adoption of the size and form of the building to its intended use etc," he said.

"Of course you can achieve even better results if more sustainable construction system solutions are used, such as intelligent lighting and ventilation systems, low temperature heating and cooling systems and energy saving household appliances."

In addition to a greater use of relevant energy saving technologies, the report stresses the importance of appropriate government policies on building codes, energy pricing and financial incentives that encourage reductions in energy consumption.

It also emphasizes that the building sector stakeholders themselves, including investors, architects, property developers, construction companies, tenants, etc. need to understand and support, such policies in order for them to function effectively.

The report also notes that approaches to finding building solutions will vary. In developed countries the main challenge is to achieve emission reduction among mostly existing buildings, and this can largely be done by reducing the use of energy.

In other parts of the world, especially places like China where almost 2 billion square meters of new building space is added every year, the challenge is to leapfrog directly to more energy efficient building solutions, the report says.

The Buildings and Climate Change report will be presented to the annual general meeting of the SBCI, which is convened in Rabat, Morocco, from 2 to 4 April 2007. The SBCI is an international partnership to "green" the multi-billion dollar building and construction sector. Launched one year ago with UNEP, it now has some thirty members including some of the biggest names in the business such as Lafarge, Skanska and Arcelor. The SBCI secretariat is hosted by the UNEP Division of Technology, Industry and Economics in Paris.

Copies of the UNEP SBCI Buildings and Climate Change report can be downloaded from http://www.unep.fr/ or www.unep.org
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