What Governments need to do
There is an urgent need for broad and effective policy frameworks to ensure ongoing action on building efficiency. Governments must work with industry and community to re-structure the approach to the development and management of built infrastructure so that it becomes environmentally and socially beneficial. The Institute calls on government to immediately adopt or expand the following policy initiatives. These have been assessed as having the most potential to achieve greater energy efficiency in the commercial and residential building sectors. While several initiatives do or may overlap, provided they are implemented with checks and balances against ‘double dipping’, a multi-faceted approach has the potential to be relevant to different energy users:
Climate Change and the Built Environment
- Work with the international community to set meaningful carbon reduction targets that allow developing countries to improve their standard of living.
- Support economy-wide carbon reduction targets with a comprehensive range of emissions reduction strategies.
- Establish an economy-wide national emissions trading framework which includes the built environment, to rapidly reverse the rise in energy consumption.
- To overcome the disincentive of time lag between investment and slow payback through energy cost savings, facilitate private sector energy efficiency incentives by a system of ‘White Certificates’ generated by energy savings arising from energy retailer subsidy of energy efficiency investments in buildings, appliances or fittings which, in the hands of energy retailers/producers, then become tradeable offsets against limitations on energy production . The Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act 2007 (Vic) which commences in 2009 is an example of such a scheme.
- Where energy limits are not applicable, similarly encourage subsidy of energy efficiency improvements by allowing an energy retailer to structure pricing to recoup its subsidy by retaining resulting savings until ‘break even’ point.
- For both new and retrofitted buildings, reduce energy use for heating and cooling by higher thermal performance standards required by the Building Code of Australia (BCA) for the design and materials of buildings.
- Reform the basis of rates, charges and levies imposed on building owners to encourage retrofitting and investment in energy efficient buildings. This should apply to both homes and commercial properties.
- Expand the range of government-funded financial assistance for investment in energy efficiency improvements (such as installation of solar hot water and power generation through to insulation or energy efficient lighting) by households or small businesses.
- By 2012, establish a regulatory and incentive process that will lead to zero net carbon emissions from all new buildings by 2020.
- Mandate compulsory reporting of energy and water consumption/performance when non-residential buildings are offered for rent, lease or sale, and on a regular basis.
- Encourage an economy wide application of renewable energy, through strategies such as increasing the price of energy from non-renewable resources to reflect its true costs, and, initiating a legislative process to protect solar access rights and to expand renewable energy rebates.
- For appliances, increase minimum performance standards for energy efficiency coupled with mandatory compliance and a consistent rating system.
Using global resources
- Commit to nation wide targets for water efficiency, and build water security by providing policy support and incentives for water harvesting and re-use.
- Commit to nation wide targets for reducing waste.
- Commit to nation wide targets for improving indoor air quality in buildings.
- Support research on the impacts of existing buildings and by 2012, set robust and comprehensive targets for altering or retrofitting existing building stock to reduce resource consumption levels.
- Provide tax incentives for existing buildings in the form of accelerated depreciation for alteration and retrofitting to meet specified environmental standards.
- Financially support in conjunction with industry, the development of a life cycle based materials database that identifies environmental impacts of materials, construction methods and technology.
- Establish an independent body of industry and government to develop a cohesive national research program on sustainable buildings, systems and materials.
- Establish sustainability performance indicators that can value Australia’s natural resources in the context of the construction industry.
Creating sustainable communities
- Support and facilitate the containment of the sprawl of Australian cities to facilitate sustainable and appropriate use of land resources
- Support and facilitate strategies to consolidate existing urban settlements.
- Establish an intergovernmental national action plan for Australia to retrofit its urban settlements.