Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN)

The GBPN’s goal is to contribute to the building sector achieving its full energy savings and CO2mitigation potential of more than 2.1 Gt by 2030. The GBPN was founded in 2010 with the mandate to advance knowledge and expertise globally on building energy performance and the structure to achieve it. It is coordinated by a global centre based in Paris, and is represented regionally with an office in Beijing, and partner organisations in Brussels, Washington D.C. and Delhi helping achieve the transformational changes required in the building sector to tackle climate change while promoting economic and social wellbeing

Analysis of the transition effects of building codes and regulations on the emergence of a low carbon residential building sector

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. It is now established that energy use in buildings is a significant source of global greenhouse gas emissions and that abatement by the building sector can provide significant social, economic and environmental benefits. This paper examines the application of socio-technical transition theory to the building sector with Australian energy policy as a case study. The relatively high level of local building construction offers significant opportunities for market transition with appropriate policy settings so this national case has international implications. Evolution of building energy efficiency standards through the Australian National Construction Code is scrutinized by benchmarking the building energy code against international best practice. The benchmarking underscores the contribution high performance energy efficient buildings could make to a low carbon transition with appropriate policy settings. Specifically government intervention in the building sector through direct regulation was shown to have substantial potential to effect this transition. Nevertheless, such intervention has proven to be politically controversial in Australia. The paper provides a twofold contribution to research in the domain of building energy policy. Firstly, by making the connection between transition theory and the role of building energy codes; secondly, by demonstrating the practical application and utility of a structured building code benchmarking process