Buildings and the construction sector have a major environmental impact. For example, buildings account for 40 per cent of energy use and carbon emissions and consume 12 per cent of the world’s fresh water. Some of the pollutants related to construction are noise pollution, air pollution, solid and liquid waste, water pollution, harmful gases, and dust.
Construction projects are the engine of many national economies, thus by upgrading and retro-fitting existing buildings with energy efficient technologies, the sector has an enormous potential to deliver relatively low-cost emissions reductions. In addition, ensuring the adoption of best practices and technologies in new constructions with low carbon emissions and circularity can increase the resilience of ecosystems and decrease heat island effects.
Green buildings can help reduce the impacts caused by traditional construction processes. It is essential to highlight that planning of new buildings plays a fundamental factor in achieving energy efficiency. That means maximizing the performance of the building structure so that it does require little to no energy use, which can be accomplished using natural lighting and renewable energy sources. There are also sustainable buildings which measure their environmental impact through the total life cycle, analysing the entire life of the building, including its demolition or deconstruction.
The NDC Action project supports countries mitigate and adapt to climate change in the context of buildings, supporting projects that work on climate-resilient design. Therefore, the inclusion of green communities and buildings to reduce the effects of a heat island and better natural exterior ventilation, are part of the strategies that will be designed and supported through the project. These strategies seek to increase the performance of the building envelope, including shading facilities, through LOW-E double glazing, interior natural ventilation, green roof, among others.
