Going green in the
building sector can save investors serious money through lower energy and water
bills. Understanding this, both investors and policymakers alike are recognizing
that greener buildings can provide multiple benefits:
• saving operating costs
by boosting efficiency,
• reducing a community’s
carbon footprint through lower greenhouse gas emissions, and
• generating jobs
through home-grown innovation
Low income families in developing countries pay a
significant proportion of their household earnings in utility bills. For
example, in Colombia, families pay close to 20% of their household income for
energy and water. Globally, 400 million
homes are predicted to be built by 2020 most of them will be in emerging
markets. This places tremendous pressure on governments to supply energy, water
and demand for building materials.
As emerging markets aim for a low carbon growth, tackling
buildings is critical as most of the low cost carbon abatement measures are in
the building sector.
It is proven that green building energy use can be reduced
by 20% with little impact on the overall cost of construction.
Why are Green Buildings important?
Urbanization
70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by
2050 (today 50%); 1 in 3 will live in urban areas in Africa & Asia.
The emerging middle class – with rising income levels – is
growing by 90 million per year. To meet this demographic change, increased employment
opportunities will have to be generated in urban areas - requiring additional
commercial buildings. Buildings of almost every type represent necessary, long-term
development infrastructure, yet present a real danger of locking in
inefficiencies for decades if constructed unsustainably.
Demographic Trends
The world will reach 9 billion by 2050; poor countries will
double in size.
Age is a significant factor; emerging market populations are
creating a huge demand for homes that need to be affordable and green.
Climate Change
Current GHG Emissions: Buildings account for 15% and
are one of the fastest growing sectors. IPCC estimates building-related GHG
emissions to double by 2030 under a high-growth development scenario. This increase would take place almost
entirely in the developing world.
Reducing climate change requires investments/innovation in
energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Green Buildings are not just for the wealthy, they are
important for all.
Thank you for this post green building Min! This is an important topic in the context of rapid urbanization and population growth in regions around the world. In Green Building Magazine for Middle East Countries (June 2012), Gregory Acker, a senior sustainable development expert, is quoted as saying, ““Sustainability should take into account the culture of a place besides such commonly accepted criteria of environment, economy and society. These include factors like food, water, shelter, language, beliefs and historical inputs like urbanization and communication.” His comment was in relation to the 31-hectare Msheirib “Heart of Doha” project: www.msheireb.com. On the Msheirib company website (whose name means, “a place to drink water”), they state their mission as the following: “...to change the way people think about urban living and improve their overall quality of life, through innovations that encourage social interaction, respect for culture, and greater care for the environment.” While the ideals of this project from the perspective of its developers/proponents would be hard to criticize, the reality of on the ground is much more complicated. In Good Fortune, we saw the story of Kibera in Nairobi from the perspective of a number of stakeholders. For those living in the slum, making their livelihood there, their relocation was profoundly challenging and potentially life threatening. The initial phases of the Mshierib project faced the same sort of challenges for those living within the area planned for development. While the project sought to revive traditions, it also raises questions about what happens to the culture and the traditions being created in urban and peri-urban communities adapting to life in these environments (like the Kibera community). What traditions are being revived, and where is the line drawn about which cultural aspects/traditions to protect and which to reject?
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