Building space heating and cooling in NDCs 4.0

Calls and initiatives for incorporating the building stock into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement indicate the large potential to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the update of NDC 4.0 for 2030, the opportunity exists to include national building stocks as an action area in NDC 4.0. Worldwide, the GHG emissions caused by national building stocks are dominated by energy consumption for the operation of buildings, especially for heating and cooling. In the Global North, the expenditure of energy and GHG emissions for heating must be further drastically reduced. Worldwide, and especially in the Global South, it is a matter of limiting the increase in mechanical cooling (i.e. air-conditioning) demand by finding a compromise with the safeguarding of thermal comfort. The first step is to account for the GHG emissions associated with space heating and cooling, including emissions from the electricity and district heating used in buildings. This briefing note argues that including space heating and cooling in NDC 4.0 is feasible and desirable and it proposes a staged approach for policymakers.

ACTION POINTS

• The built environment can provide a large contribution to achieving individual national targets for reducing energy consumption and limiting GHG emissions. There is potential for all countries to include the built environment in their NDCs and national mitigation strategies.
• A first step is the examination of energy consumption and GHG emissions of residential and non-residential buildings, caused by space heating and cooling during their operation.
• To identify opportunities for reducing GHG emissions, countries should assess SCOPE 1 emissions from fuels used in buildings and SCOPE 2 emissions associated with the electricity and district heating or cooling they consume. This end-use assessment can complement national emissions inventories.