RC110 JanFeb 2024 - Magazine - Page 32
LEGAL
DESIGNS ON THE FUTURE
Advancing regulatory tools for energy efficient and
climate-resilient buildings
by Selina Lee-Andersen
Selina Lee-Andersen,
a Partner with Miller
Thomson LLP, based
in Vancouver, is an
environmental lawyer
who specializes in
climate change law,
where she advises
on carbon offsets,
emissions trading and
clean tech.
N ITS Early Estimate of National Emissions released in September 2023, the Canadian Climate Institute found that
emissions from the Canadian building sector increased
from 84 mega tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt
CO2e) in 2005 to 92 Mt CO2e in 2022 (an increase from
11 to 13.5 per cent of Canada’s overall emissions). If
building materials and construction are factored in, the
Canada Green Building Council pegs greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions from the building sector closer to 30 per
cent, making it one of Canada’s top emitting industries.
Globally, the World Green Building Council estimates that
buildings account for approximately 39 per cent of the
world’s emissions. In response, there has been a proliferation of regulatory initiatives to improve the energy e昀케ciency of buildings and support the transition of the country’s
building stock to net zero.
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32 RENEW CANADA – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024
The road to 2030
Given the signi昀椀cant contribution of emissions from the
building sector, the federal government has set its sights
on implementing programs to reduce emissions from
buildings. In July 2022, the federal government released
its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy plan (2030 Emissions Reduction Plan), which provides
a sector-by-sector roadmap for Canada to reduce its
emissions to 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and to
reach net zero emissions by 2050. Under the plan, direct
emissions from residential, commercial and institutional
buildings will be reduced by making new buildings “net
zero energy ready” through an updated building code.
For existing buildings, the federal government is developing a retro昀椀t code along with an energy labeling scheme
to support retro昀椀ts and advanced e昀케ciency standards for
new heating equipment. The 2030 Emissions Reduction
Plan also focuses on the need for greater energy e昀케ciency in buildings located in Indigenous communities
and opportunities to incorporate traditional Indigenous
knowledge into building designs. To facilitate these initiatives, the federal government committed $150 million in
its 2022 budget to develop the Canada Green Buildings
Strategy, which will enable the development of regulatory
standards to support the transition to less carbon intensive heating systems, as well as the establishment of the
Low Carbon Building Materials Innovation Hub and Net
Zero Building Code Acceleration Fund.
The essential role of building energy codes
Since the introduction of Canada’s 昀椀rst building energy
code in 1997, there has been an increasing emphasis on
improving energy e昀케ciency in buildings. According to
E昀케ciency Canada, building codes a昀昀ect up to 68 per cent
of energy use in buildings and up to 81 per cent of energy
use in residential houses. With energy use in buildings expected to increase, building energy codes are an essential
tool in decarbonizing the building sector. Building energy
codes, which are a subset of building codes, set minimum
energy e昀케ciency standards for a range of building types
and seek to improve the energy performance of building
components that directly a昀昀ect energy use, including
the building envelope, hot water systems, lighting, and
heating, cooling and ventilation systems. In recent years,
net zero energy buildings have become more widespread.
RENEWCANADA.NET
GETTY IMAGES
Since the introduction of Canada’s
first building energy code in 1997, there has
been an increasing emphasis on improving
energy efficiency in buildings.
