Background
The buildings and buildings construction sectors combined are responsible for over one-third of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions. Energy demand from buildings, including air conditioning and buildings construction continues to rise, driven by improved access to energy in developing countries, greater ownership and use of energy-consuming devices, and rapid growth in global buildings floor area.
According to the the IEA’s World Energy Outlook, energy efficiency and the decarbonisation of electricity under a Sustainable Development Scenario could reduce annual emissions from buildings in Asia in 2040 by almost 3 000 megatonnes of carbon dioxide (MtCO2) compared to a Stated Policies Scenario (IEA, 2019a).
Achieving these outcomes at pace and scale will require greater collaboration among policy makers at all jurisdictional levels, as well as with urban planners, architects, developers, investors, construction companies and utility companies.
Based on the findings from the GlobalABC Regional Roadmap for Buildings and Construction in Asia, there exists significant potential in policy and technology development in the ASEAN region, across the areas of new building construction, building retrofits, appliances, building operations, materials and more.
GlobalABC Roadmap for Asia
As a product of a highly consultative process, we had more than 200 experts engaged in the development of the Asia roadmap, refining them each time with more data and examples from the region. Now, it presents policy and technology targets and timelines, as well as key actions under eight priority areas which range from urban planning to new buildings, building retrofits, building operations, systems, materials, resilience and clean energy, in the quest of harnessing the sector’s enormous opportunities for decarbonization and achieving the sustainable development goals. It reflects specificities of the region, highlighting priorities and data gaps. Hence, the Asia Roadmap presents both, a framework and a process that can be used at the national level and support the buildings and construction sector’s Race to Zero by 2050.
For example, using the methodology and findings of the Asia Roadmap, the Programme for Energy Efficiency for Buildings, together with the Ministry of Construction (MoC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) of Viet Nam, is developing the NDC Buildings Roadmap as a tool to accelerate the pace and scale of the decarbonization goals of the buildings sector in the country.
ASEAN Buildings and Cooling Roadmap
Building on the work of the GlobalABC’s Regional Roadmap for Buildings and Construction in Asia, and the IEA’s Future of Cooling Report, the IEA is collaborating with the ASEAN Secretariat and ASEAN Member States on a new project to develop a detailed roadmap for the buildings and construction sector in Southeast Asia and a roadmap for space cooling in the region. The road mapping process aims to assist ASEAN Member States to develop and implement strategies, plans, policies and programmes to reduce the energy demand of the buildings and construction sectors and space cooling, with a particular focus on the role that energy efficiency in these sectors can play in economic stimulus.