1. Buildings in a Carbon-Constrained World
Nov 26th
Sustainable Buildings Canada
2. Buildings in a carbon-
constrained economy
• The impact of building developments on climate
change
• Emerging trends
• Government initiatives
• Private initiatives
• Carbon markets and their relationship to buildings
• Gap analysis – what’s needed?
3. The Perfect Storm…
Climate Change
Acid rain
damage
Air
pollution
Resource
Water pollution
depletion
8. LCA of Energy Supply
Even source
energy doesn’t
get it all
End use energy
estimates just one
part of the story
The rest of the story is the
energy to make and move
energy — called pre-
combustion in LCA
11. GHG Policy – Kyoto & Canada
• The Kyoto Protocol - 5.2% below 1990 by 2012
• Canada Federal
• Cap & Trade for large final emitters by January 1, 2010 (based on carbon
intensity reductions)
• Target of 20% below 2006 levels by 2020
• Harper proposal (Oct 08) for a cap-and-trade system with Mexico and the US to
take effect in 2015
• BC Gov’t
• 33 % emissions reduction below 2007 levels by 2020
• 80% by 2050
• Carbon neutrality for it own operations by 2010
• Ontario Gov’t
• 6% below 1990 levels by 2014
• 15% by 2020
• 80% by 2050
• Manitoba – 23% below 1990 levels by 2012
12. GHG Policy - United States
• US draft cap-and-trade bill to reduce emissions 80% below
2005 levels by 2050
• All new federal buildings:
• carbon-neutral by 2025
• 40% improvement in efficiency within five years (2013)
• 25% improvement in the efficiency of existing buildings by 2013
• All new buildings
• Same as federal but deadline extended 5 years to 2018
• California – reach 1990 levels by 2020
• U.S. Supreme Court can now regulate greenhouse gases as
pollutants
13. Buildings & Climate Change
Direct Initiatives
• World Bank – Community Development Fund
• UN – Sustainable Buildings & Construction Initiative
• EU Directive 2002/91/EC – Energy Performance of
Buildings
• Climate Trust (US)
• Philanthropic organizations (US)
Business Sector
• Origin Energy’s ‘Carbon Reduction Scheme’
16. Carbon & $$$
• The worldwide carbon market >US$30 billion
• N.American voluntary market = $700 M/yr (2008)
• In the US, $11.8 billion was invested in 58 separate
carbon funds as of March 2007.
• California State carbon offsets $400 M/yr
• BC Gov’t carbon offsets $20 M/yr
• Voluntary carbon credit prices have continued an
upward trend with 26% increases in 2008 over 2007
and 60% over 2006 prices.
17. Buildings & Climate Change
Non-profit Initiatives
• USGBC - LCA into LEED 2009
• Architecture 2030 – 2030 Challenge
• PEW Centre – Meeting GHG targets through
buildings
• CaGBC
• “Towards A Buildings-Centric Climate Change
Strategy”
19. “Turning the Corner” - Canada's Offset
System for Greenhouse Gases
• Offset projects must be:
• Real
• Incremental
• Quantified
• Verified
• Unique
• Environment Canada certifies the reductions and
issues offset credits.
20. Counting Carbon:
Understanding Carbon Footprints
of Buildings
• Four steps that are required to
generate offset credits:
1. Creation of a quantification
protocol for the project type;
2. Registration of the project;
3. Reporting and verification of
reductions from a registered
project;
4. Certification of reductions and
issuance of offset credits.
21. CaGBC & Canada Offset
System for Greenhouse Gases
• generate revenue to support green building and EE
programs;
• provide a system for the real estate industry to off-
set and trade carbon credits as part of CaGBC’s
LEED Canada Initiative or Green Building
Performance System;
• measure progress towards national and international
climate change targets;
22. Barriers to Involvement of Buildings in the
Carbon Markets
• Offset projects must be:
• Real
• Incremental
• Quantified
• Verified
• Unique
• Cost-effective
23. Involvement of Buildings in the Carbon
Markets
• Other mechanisms for Involvement of Buildings in the Carbon
Markets
• Fund set up by energy providers
• Bond mechanisms
• “Minnesota Flip”
24. Industry drivers
what do we need?
• Policy & Incentives
• Investments
• Funding mechanisms (offsets, bond measures)
• Demand Side Management (DSM)
• Clean-energy revolution
• Renewable Energy
• New Technologies
