Their paper titled Performance of distributed energy resources in three low energy dwellings during the UK lock down period examines household energy use and performance of low carbon technologies in Yorkshire, during the Covid-19 lockdown. The research study is part of a five-year €4.2 million EU funded project - Zero Plus on zero energy settlements.

The research found that the use of smart home batteries coupled with rooftop solar panels, resulted in over 95% reduced average direct grid consumption during peak hours. The estimated cost benefit to homeowners using smart energy systems in the study ranged from annual savings of between £260 and £438.

The study explored the change in daily energy use and performance of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as electro-chemical batteries, during the Covid-19 lockdown period from 23 March 2020 to 31 May 2020. Three houses in an eco-development in York, were occupied continuously by families during that time. They had identical heating systems (district heating), rooftop solar panels and home batteries (14kWh). The energy use, generation and charge-discharge of the batteries were monitored every five minutes using remote sensors. 

The building sector, as it stands today, is a major contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the European Union. It remains highly dependent on fossil fuels, has yet to embrace circularity, and is not seeing the renovation activity necessary to meet climate goals and improve people’s wellbeing. The Renovation Wave strategy published by the Commission on October 14, 2020 calls for faster and deeper renovation and is comprehensive and far-reaching. Its premise is that to contribute to a higher 2030 climate target and decarbonise the building sector, a wide range of policies, measures and tools must be put in place at all levels to overcome existing barriers and mobilise all actors, including citizens, local authorities, investors and the construction value chain.

This assessment sets out BPIE’s views on the key elements of the strategy and provides suggestions how they can be put into action. For example, BPIE argues that a much stronger focus on deep renovations is needed to achieve full decarbonisation of buildings by 2050 and this should be reflected in the upcoming legislative processes and respective supporting instruments.

The Renovation Wave will catalyse a series of actions in the coming years to unleash a wave of building renovations. New and stronger follow-up measures are welcome and needed. At the same time, such an initiative can only be successful if the current legislation is well implemented across EU Member States providing the necessary solid basis for delivering the Renovation Wave.

Abstract

Despite ongoing efforts, there continues to be a significant investment gap in building energy efficiency (BEE). Given the limited public resources, targeted green finance instruments can help bridge this gap. However, mainstreaming green finance is fraught with several challenges, including the lack of a global taxonomy and incoherent policy guidance. In this policy brief, we first propose improving national BEE standards, especially in the developing members of the G20, and to reduce differences between the national and global standards, which can significantly contribute to establishing a global taxonomy of green finance for BEE. Next, we propose a more focused and progressive implementation of the G20 Tokyo Declaration with systemic policy action, aligning fiscal and financial policy priorities with low-carbon energy transition goals that can catalyze the development of green finance.

Authors

• Fatih Yilmaz - King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC)
• Nawaz Peerbocus - King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC)
• Rishikesh Ram Bhandary - The Fletcher School, Tufts University
• Fang Zhang - Harvard Kennedy School, The Fletcher School
• Kelly Sims Gallagher - The Fletcher School
• Venkatachalam Anbumozhi - Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
• Kaliappa Kalirajan- Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University

Green buildings vs. the crisis

Stimulus programmes for green buildings – best practice examples

Green building stimulus programmes can boost a Green Recovery after Covid-19.

Please find the recording of our webinar here.

The construction sector is essential for an economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis. It can rapidly create large amounts of jobs and involves far-reaching value chains of small and large businesses. At the same time, the building sector presents a massive – and largely unused – opportunity to respond to the climate crisis. The building sector holds the potential for a double win: For small extra investments, green buildings can achieve massive long-term savings of cost and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Governments successfully used green building programmes to help recover from the 2008 financial crisis.

In 2020, governments are looking for ways to respond to the economic crisis that followed the Covid-19 pandemic, with economic stimulus packages worth trillions of dollars. To “build back better”, we need green recovery programmes. Stimulus programmes for the building sector can boost a Green Recovery, with massive benefits for jobs, the economy, and the climate.

The GlobalABC’s Work Area on Finance group has collected examples of green building programmes that can serve as an inspiration for stimulus programmes for the building sector. These case studies show key features of programmes and their benefits. These examples are aimed at governments and investors, including development banks, other public and private banks, and real-estate financing.

The response to the crisis as an investment in the future

Green building programmes are excellent value-for-money. For some of the programmes collected, extensive evaluations have been conducted and published, and benefits are provided with the example. Benefits include:

• High energy and CO2 savings
• Job creation
• High private sector leverage
• Health benefits through better homes
• Socio-economic benefits through savings on energy bills
• Macro-economic benefits through savings on energy subsidies

Many programmes help to introduce more ambitious standards for national building codes, by demonstrating the technical and financial feasibility of green buildings.

Successful Blueprints for Green Building Programmes Exist

Green building programmes stimulate investments into green buildings, through financial incentives that compensate for the extra cost involved in reaching higher standards, either through renovation or for new construction. The programmes collected all use financial incentives to stimulate investments, that is loans or grants. They use financial incentives to make up for the slightly higher investment cost of green housing equal that leads to cost savings at a later stage. Programmes that provide non-monetary incentives, for example height bonuses or property tax incentives, have not been included.

Successful green building programmes are tailored to the local context. The programmes use various instruments, or a mix of them, targeting different groups, for example: 

• green mortgages to households
• bridging loans to developers
• grants to homeowners or housing associations
• concessional loans to developers or housing associations

Some of these programmes were supported by development finance institutions. Technical support was sometimes included to support private sector and public institutions in the introduction of higher technical standard

Green buildings programmes

• Colombia
• Estonia
• France
• Germany
• Kenya
• Mexico
• Peru
• Ukraine

A GlobalABC webinar on 23 September 2020 discussed how to use successful green building programmes as a blueprint for green recovery programmes, as well as possibilities for financing them.       

Presentations (click on name to download): 

• Rusmir Music, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Vyacheslav Koval, Energy Efficiency Fund, Ukraine 
• José Lopez, Agence Francaise de Développement (AFD)
• Michael Oppermann, International Energy Agency (IEA)

Climate change, new ways of working, new business models and the digital revolution are among the main challenges the real estate industry is confronted to. Innovation is key to face them and invent tomorrow's buildings. This publication aims at analyzing the driving forces of innovation and their consequences on real estate, and at showing innovative solutions developed in France and abroad.

The built environment is responsible for almost 40% of the global energy and process-related CO₂  emissions. To meet the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5°C, we need to reach net-zero emissions across all activities in the building and construction system. The goal is for all new buildings to operate at net-zero emissions by 2030 at the latest, and for all buildings to operate at net zero by 2050.

This report proposes a new framework that can be used as a common language for carbon emissions, by all actors across the built environment. Using a common metric and a full life-cycle approach, the WBCSD Building System Carbon Framework facilitates collaboration across the value chain, where common solutions can be developed and implemented to help achieve system decarbonization.

It is neutral on materials and solutions, bridging embodied and operational carbon, which is a vital prerequisite for reaching net zero in the built environment. The framework also enables each user to identify the best emissions-reduction strategies for their part of the value chain and allows the stakeholders to make informed decisions based on clear and transparent information.