Editing IPCC:AR6/WGIII/Chapter-9 (section)

=== 9.9.7 Governance and Institutional Capacity ===

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==== 9.9.7.1 Governance ====

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Multi-level and polycentric governance is essential for implementing sufficiency, energy efficiency and renewable energies policies ( [[#IPCC--2018|IPCC 2018]] ). Policies can be implemented at different levels of government and decision making, international, national, regional, and local. Policies for building have be adopted at national level ( [[#Enker--2017|Enker and Morrison 2017]] ), at state or regional level ( [[#Fournier--2019|Fournier et al. 2019]] ), or at city level ( [[#Trencher--2019|Trencher and van der Heijden 2019]] ). [[#Zhao--2019|Zhao et al. (2019)]] find that national policies are instrumental in driving low carbon developments in buildings.

International agreements (Kyoto, Montreal/Kigali, Paris, etc.) play an important role in establishing national energy-efficiency and renewable energy policies in several countries ( [[#Dhar--2018|Dhar et al. 2018]] ; [[#Bertoldi--2018|Bertoldi 2018]] ). Under the Paris Agreement, some NDCs contain emission reduction targets for subsectors, for example, buildings, policies for subsectors and energy efficiency and/or renewable targets (see also Cross-Chapter Box 5 in Chapter 4). In the EU since 2007 climate and energy policies are part of a co-ordinated policy package. EU Member States have prepared energy efficiency plans every three years and long-term renovation strategies for buildings ( [[#Economidou--2020|Economidou et al. 2020]] ). Under the new Energy and Climate Governance Regulation EU Member States have submitted at the end of 2020 integrated National Energy and Climate Plans, including energy efficiency and renewable plans. (Oberthur 2019; [[#Schlacke--2019|Schlacke and Knodt 2019]] ). The integration of energy and climate change policies and their governance has been analysed ( [[#von%20Lüpke--2020|von Lüpke and Well 2020]] ), highlighting the need of reinforcing the institutions, anticipatory governance, the inconsistency of energy policies and the emerging multi-level governance.

Some policies are best implemented at international level. Efficiency requirements for traded goods and the associated test methods could be set at global level in order to enlarge the market, avoid technical barriers to trade; reduce the manufacturers design and compliance costs. International standards could be applied to developing countries when specific enabling conditions exist, particularly in regard to technology transfer, assistance for capacity buildings and financial support. This would also reduce the dumping of inefficient equipment in countries with no or lower efficiency requirements. An example is the dumping of new or used inefficient cooling equipment in developing countries, undermining national and local efforts to manage energy, environment, health, and climate goals. Specific regulations can be put in place to avoid such environmental dumping, beginning with the ‘prior informed consent’ as in the Rotterdam Convention and a later stage with the adoption of minimum efficiency requirements for appliances ( [[#Andersen--2018|Andersen et al. 2018]] ; [[#UNEP--2017|UNEP 2017]] ). [[#Dreyfus--2020a|Dreyfus et al. (2020a)]] indicates that global policies to promote best technologies currently available have the potential to reduce climate emissions from air conditionings and refrigeration equipment by 210–460 GtCO 2 -eq by 2060, resulting from the phasing down of HFC and from improved energy efficiency. Another example is the commitment by governments in promoting improvements in energy efficiency of cooling equipment in parallel with the phasedown of HFC refrigerants enshrined in the Biarritz Pledge for Fast Action on Efficient Cooling signed in 2019. The policy development and implementation costs will be reduced as the technical analysis leading to the standard could be shared among governments. However, it is important that local small manufacturing companies in developing countries have the capacity to invest in updating production lines for meeting new stringent international efficiency requirements.

Building energy consumption is dependent on local climate and building construction traditions, regional and local government share an important role in promoting energy efficiency in buildings and on-site RES, through local building energy codes, constructions permits and urban planning. In South Korea, there is a green building certification system operated by the government, based on this, Seoul has enacted Seoul’s building standard, which includes more stringent requirements. Where it is difficult to retrofit existing buildings, for example, historical buildings, cities may impose target at district level, where RES could be shared among buildings with energy positive buildings compensating for energy consuming buildings. Local climate and urban plans could also contribute to the integration of the building sector with the local transport, water, and energy sectors, requiring, for example, new constructions in areas served by public transport, close to offices or buildings to be ready for e-mobility. Buildings GHG emission reduction shall also be considered in greenfield and brownfield developments and urban expansion ( [[#Loo--2017|Loo et al. 2017]] ; Salviati and Ricciardo Lamonica 2020), including co-benefits ( [[#Zapata-Diomedi--2019|Zapata-Diomedi et al. 2019]] ).

Energy efficiency, sufficiency, and renewable policies and measures will have a large impact on different stakeholders (citizens, construction companies; equipment manufacturers; utilities, etc.), several studies highlighted the importance of stakeholder consultation and active participation in policy making and policy implementation ( [[#Vasileiadou--2013|Vasileiadou and Tuinstra 2013]] ; [[#Ingold--2020|Ingold et al. 2020]] ), including voluntary commitments and citizen assemblies. In particular, energy user’s role will be transformed from passive role to an active role, as outlined in the concept of energy citizenship ( [[#Campos--2020|Campos and Marín-González 2020]] ). The energy citizens need and voice should therefore be included in policy processes among traditional business players, such as incumbent centralised power generation companies and utilities ( [[#Van%20Veelen--2018|Van Veelen 2018]] ). Architects and engineers play an important role in the decarbonisation of buildings. The professional bodies can mandate their members support energy efficiency and sufficiency. For example, the US AIA states in their code of ethics that architects must inform clients of climate risks and opportunities for sustainability. The capacity and quality of workforce and building construction, retrofit, and service firms are essential to execute the fast transition in building systems (Cross-Chapter Box 12 in Chapter 16).

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==== 9.9.7.2 Institutional Capacity ====

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The concept of institutional capacity is increasingly connected with the issue of public governance, emphasising the broad institutional context within which individual policies are adopted. Institutions are durable and are sources of authority (formal or informal) structuring repeated interactions of individuals, companies, civil society groups, governments, and other entities. Thus, institutional capacity also represents a broader ‘enabling environment’ which forms the basis upon which individuals and organisations interact. In general terms, capacity is ‘the ability to perform functions, solve problems and set and achieve objectives’ ( [[#Fukuda-Parr--2002|Fukuda-Parr et al. 2002]] ). Institutional capacity is an important element for regional sustainable development ( [[#Farajirad--2015|Farajirad et al. 2015]] ). The role and importance of institutional capacity is fundamental in implementing the building decarbonisation. Central and local governments, regulatory organisations, financial institutions, standardisation bodies, test laboratories, building construction and design companies, qualified workforce and stakeholders are key players in supporting the implementation of building decarbonisation.

Governments (from national to local) planning to introduce efficiency, RES, and sufficiency policies needs technical capacity to set sectoral targets and design policies and introduce effective and enforcement with adequate structure and resources for their implementation. Policies discussed and agreed with stakeholders and based on impartial data and impact assessments, have a higher possibility of success. Public authorities need technical and economics competences to understand complex technical issues and eliminate the knowledge gap in comparison to private sector experts, human and financial resources to design, implement, revise, and evaluate policies. The role of energy efficiency policy evaluation needs to be expanded, including the assessment of the rebound effect ( [[#Vine--2013|Vine et al. 2013]] ). For developing countries international support for institutional capacity for policy development, implementation and evaluation is of key importance for testing laboratory, standards institute, enforcement and compliances technicians and evaluation experts. Thus, in development support, addition to technology transfer, also capacity buildings for national and local authorities should be provides. The Paris Agreement Article 11 aims at enhancing the capacity of decision-making institutions in developing countries to support effective implementation.

Enforcement of policies is of key importance. Policies on appliance energy standards need to establish criteria for random checks and tests of compliance, establish penalties and sanctions for non-compliance. For building code compliance there is the need to verify compliance after construction to verify the consistence with building design ( [[#Vine--2017|Vine et al. 2017]] ). Often local authorities lack resources and technical capacity to carry out inspections to check code compliance. This issue is even more pressing in countries and cities with large informal settlements, where buildings may not be respecting building energy codes for safety and health.

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