Foreword
Energy upgrades in Australian buildings can achieve a quarter of Australia’s 2030 reduction targets. By improving building design, heating and cooling systems, lighting and other equipment and appliances to improve energy performance, we can achieve more than half of our national energy productivity goals. However, progress has been slow, and our research shows that delays can lead to lost opportunities and billions of dollars in energy costs.
The new Federal Minister of Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, has the opportunity to showcase the potential of his new merged role. Today, in Canberra, Australian Energy Ministers held their first meeting since the election through the COAG Energy Council. One of the agendas will be the National Energy Productivity Program (NEPP). Its goal is to increase energy productivity by 40% by 2030. This involves increasing the economic value of each unit of energy consumption.
NEPP contains many good measures related to buildings. However, without stronger governance arrangements, greater transparency and stronger, clearer public communication and participation, these policy measures are likely to slide between multiple institutions in the construction sector, portfolios and cracks in jurisdictions. .
What can a better building achieve?
Our research found that buildings can help achieve our climate and energy goals, as shown in the following figure. We have found that improving the energy efficiency of buildings can achieve 10% of our emissions targets. Distributed energy (mainly rooftop solar) can achieve an additional 18%. Increased energy efficiency can reduce the energy use of 202 petajoules or half of the energy needed to achieve energy productivity targets.
Despite the huge opportunity to reduce emissions in the construction sector, overall progress has so far been slow. Market leaders, especially those in the commercial office market, have made fundamental changes in energy productivity and are recognized as global leaders in sustainable building. There are many examples of high performance or net zero emission buildings around Australia.
However, over the past decade, the energy performance of the entire market has increased by only 2% in commercial buildings and by 5% in residential buildings. We are not on the right track right now. Our report finds that continuing to delay actions to reduce emissions from buildings means that we will lose a lot of cost-effective solutions to improve energy performance. Many emission reduction opportunities exist only for a certain period of time. For example, installing inefficient equipment rather than more efficient options can effectively lock in excess emissions over the next few decades.
A five-year delay could result in a waste of $24 billion in energy costs and more than 170 million tons of emissions reductions by 2050. Considering that the current national emissions target aims to reduce emissions by 272 million tons by 2010, this is a huge loss. 2030 If no additional action is taken, by 2050, buildings will eventually consume more than half of Australia’s “carbon budget”. This will account for less than half of all other sectors of the economy, including emissions-intensive industries, transportation, land and agriculture.
Strengthen policy
In order to achieve the emission reduction potential of the construction industry, strong policies will be needed to address the obstacles to improving the energy performance of buildings. Our report suggests five key solutions as part of the integrated strategy suite.
First, develop a national plan to coordinate policies and reduce emissions measures to expand the market leaders’ achievements in the entire construction sector. Second, introduce mandatory minimum standards for buildings, equipment and appliances to achieve the long-term goal of zero net emissions. Third, develop incentives and programs to motivate and support higher energy performance in the short to medium term. Fourth, reform the energy market to ensure that it supports cost-effective energy efficiency and distributed energy. Finally, we need a range of support data, information, training, and educational initiatives to achieve smart consumer choice and support innovation, commercialization, and deployment of new technologies and business models.
Implementing these policy measures will put Australia on the path of zero-carbon buildings and unleash huge building potential to provide better health outcomes and a more livable, more productive city.
Ubiquitous barrier
不幸的是，减少建筑物排放物
Unfortunately, opportunities to reduce building emissions are hampered by strong barriers that require coordination between the federal, state, and territorial communities. To address the complexity of this task, NEPP needs stronger governance arrangements, including specified building targets or indicators, to complement the 40% NEPP overall target, and to conduct more regular public reporting (until public inspection is not completed until 2020) ).
Clearer communication and participation around energy performance within targets and buildings will also help build confidence and drive innovation and activity between families and businesses. In addition, we need better coordination between members of the Energy Council and between the Council and other government forums and agencies. For example, the National Building Code, which regulates the minimum standards for new buildings and large refurbishment projects, is an important policy lever. However, the regulation is overseen by the Minister of Construction Forum and not by the Energy Council, while state and territory agencies are responsible for overseeing the implementation of standards.
Similar problems exist in coordinating different levels of energy performance across jurisdictions, coordinating training and certification of professionals throughout the architectural design and construction sector, and energy market reforms to create a level playing field for energy efficiency and decentralized renewable energy. Coordination of these issues should be the main focus of the Energy Council. The new Minister of Environment and Energy – responsible for achieving national emission reduction targets and for implementing productivity programs – is now in a unique position to lead these efforts. We encourage the COAG Energy Council to support this.