There is potential for energy conservation and carbon reduction in the construction industry

Source: Economic Daily

The Guangdong Provincial Department of Housing and Urban Rural Development recently issued the "Guangdong Province Green Building Pricing Guidelines", which will be implemented from April 1, 2023. The introduction of this document is of certain significance for strengthening the construction of the green building pricing basis system and meeting the development needs of the local construction market. It also indicates that green buildings are receiving increasing attention.

Construction, industry, and transportation are the three main areas of energy consumption in China. The energy consumption of buildings such as building materials production, construction energy consumption, living energy consumption, and heating and air conditioning accounts for about one-third of the total energy consumption in society. The carbon dioxide emissions from the construction industry account for more than 40% of the total carbon emissions in the country, and the energy consumption during operation accounts for 70% of the building energy consumption. The construction industry has enormous potential for carbon reduction. Transforming the development model of the construction industry, promoting green buildings, building ecological cities, effectively implementing energy conservation and emission reduction, and addressing climate change can be described as a long and arduous task.

In recent years, with the continuous increase in national policy support, the steady progress of new urbanization construction, and the gradual establishment and improvement of relevant technical standard systems, China's green building industry has maintained a high-speed development trend. Focusing on the concept of sustainable development, green buildings and ecological buildings fully consider comprehensive factors such as environmental protection, energy conservation, economy, comfort, and health throughout the entire life cycle of buildings, such as planning and positioning, design and construction, operation and management, to maximize the coordinated development of buildings and ecology, and the harmonious coexistence of humans and nature.

To promote the quality upgrade of green buildings and better achieve the "dual carbon" goal, multiple measures should be taken simultaneously.

We need to drive the transformation of inventory through incremental optimization. The "14th Five Year Plan for Building Energy Efficiency and Green Building Development" clearly states that by 2025, new urban buildings will fully implement green building standards. The proportion of star rated green buildings reaches over 30%, and new government invested public welfare buildings and large public buildings all reach one star or more. From the perspective of overall accounting, long-term accounting, and sustainable development accounting, developing green buildings, strengthening innovation, promotion, and application of low-carbon technology in the construction field, constructing high-quality demonstration projects for low-carbon and zero carbon buildings, and promoting low-carbon, energy-saving, and emission reduction renovation of existing existing buildings, the overall cost is acceptable.

To effectively utilize the advantages of latecomers and economies of scale. In the field of green building, relevant enterprises and regions can use their latecomer advantages and economies of scale to timely grasp opportunities such as urban renewal, urban renovation, new urban construction, and new infrastructure, which can better implement sustainable strategies and meet user needs, and is conducive to achieving green turning and overtaking on curves as soon as possible. For example, an organization has conducted research on 3089 Grade A office buildings in 14 cities in Asia and found that the proportion of Grade A office buildings that have obtained green certification has steadily increased from 12% in 2016 to 42% in 2022; The green building certification ratios in Beijing and Shanghai are 44% and 41%, respectively, far higher than the early and elderly office building market in Hong Kong.

We need to comprehensively utilize market means and policy guidance to enhance enterprise awareness and participation. In addition to reducing environmental costs, improving energy utilization efficiency, and achieving market competitive advantages, investment in green buildings is beneficial for improving the resilience of enterprises in responding to the environment, climate change, energy prices, and natural disasters. It helps enterprises enhance their brand image, practice social responsibility, and strive to consolidate the foundation of high-quality growth, development, and sustainable development.

We need to coordinate and promote zero carbon practices from the dimensions of individual buildings, block locations, and urban systems. In addition to focusing on building energy conservation, emission reduction, and decarbonization, various regions should tailor carbon reduction development paths for industries, industries, and cities according to local conditions, increase investment in developing circular economy, urban greening, and biodiversity, scientifically and orderly promote zero carbon green transformation, obtain zero carbon value benefits, and combine greening with digitization, networking, and intelligence to strive to improve urban livability, inclusivity, diversity, and safety.

We must adhere to the strategy of technological innovation and coordinated development across the entire industry chain. Increase investment in research and development of key technologies and technology integration innovation, including green and environmentally friendly ecological building design technology, building energy conservation technology, and green building materials, to drive the technology service industry as the upstream industry of green buildings, the green construction industry as the midstream industry, and the supporting service industry of downstream industries. Drive the optimization and maximization of social, technological, environmental, and resource benefits with economic benefits.