A new study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) shows how reducing energy use in buildings 60% by 2050 is essential to meeting global climate change targets.
The central message of the report, based on four years worth of research, is that immediate action is required to transform the building sector.
The Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) report Transforming the Market: Energy Efficiency in Buildings, analyzes the residential and commercial building sectors in the US, EU, Japan, China, India and Brazil. Together, these six countries/regions consume about two-thirds of current global energy output.
The report provides a roadmap for transforming the building sector. It includes:
- Strengthen building codes and energy labeling for increased transparency.
- Use subsidies and price signals to incentivize energy-efficient investments.
- Encourage integrated design approaches and innovations.
- Develop and use advanced technology to enable energy-saving behavior.
- Develop workforce capacity for energy saving.
- Mobilize for an energy-aware culture.
“Energy efficiency is fast becoming one of the defining issues of our times, and buildings are that issue’s ‘elephant in the room’. Buildings use more energy than any other sector and as such are a major contributor to climate change,” said Björn Stigson, president of the WBCSD.
“The market alone will not be able to make the necessary changes. Most building owners and occupants don’t know enough and don’t care enough about energy consumption, and inertia is reinforced by assumptions that costs are too high and savings too low. That’s why we are calling for a major, coordinated and global effort. If we can create that, we will cut greenhouse gas emissions and stimulate economic growth at the same time,” he said.
The project took a bottom-up, market-driven approach to understanding the barriers to lower energy use, based on the most detailed view ever of the current state of energy demand in buildings. Energy use by building type was analyzed for millions of existing and new buildings and projected out to 2050, accounting for differences such as climate and building design.
Using computer simulations, researchers were able to show the market response to various combinations of financial, technical, behavioral and policy options, identifying the optimum mix to achieve transformation for each market studied.
The report and supporting documents can be downloaded at the link below.
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