U.N.: Greener buildings vs. climate change

UNITED NATIONS, March 29 (UPI) -- A U.N. Environment Programme report says builders can substantially reduce global-warming carbon dioxide emissions from construction projects.

The right mix of appropriate government regulation, greater use of energy-saving technologies and behavioral change can bring about the positive change, the organization said. The building sector accounts for 30 percent to 40 percent of total energy use.

"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," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said of measures ranging from revamping ventilation systems to replacing incandescent light bulbs.

"By some conservative estimates, the building sector worldwide could deliver emission reductions of 1.8 billion tons of CO2. A more aggressive energy efficiency policy might deliver over 2 billion tons or close to three times the amount scheduled to be reduced under the Kyoto Protocol," he added, referring to the pact setting legally binding emission-reduction targets for 35 industrialized countries in the 2008-2012 period.

The report, entitled, "Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities," produced by UNEP's Sustainable Construction and Building Initiative, encourages greater use of existing technologies like thermal insulation, solar shading and more efficient lighting and electrical appliances.

In the lifetime of an average building, most energy is consumed not for construction but for heating, cooling, lighting, cooking and ventilation, the report said.

Typically, more than 80 percent of total energy consumption occurs during use and less than 20 percent during construction, it said.