The building energy efficiency labeling (BEEL) scheme has been adopted in China since 2008. However, until now, its effect on the actual building energy efficiency has not been accurately established. The objective of this study was to investigate this effect through a case study in Shanghai, China. Additionally, by performing a thorough review, potential barriers for implementing the BEEL scheme in major areas of China were analyzed.

People spend most of their time inside buildings, and buildings are responsible for approximately one third of total direct and indirect energy-related worldwide carbon emissions. Likewise, buildings in the U.S. account for about 40% of total U.S. energy consumption. Future building development will be driven not only by emerging challenges such as vulnerability to a changing climate and resource scarcity, but also by disruptive innovations and societal changes.

Due to global climate change, carbon reduction has become a critical issue for the construction industry. Low carbon building has been adopted as a strategic objective, and its implementation demonstrates the enormous potential of reducing carbon emissions. Despite much research, some important research areas or gaps have not been identified, while simultaneously, few studies describe the knowledge roadmap for low carbon building research necessary to guide scholars and practitioners.

This paper provides an overview of the Malaysian Energy Efficiency regulatory framework as well as current financing and incentive mechanisms available to the building sector. The review has found that some of the existing financing schemes have been successful while others could leverage on other existing schemes to improve its effectiveness. The review will explore the strengths and gaps of the available schemes and will propose some ways to increase the uptake up rate of the schemes.

Contemporary societies are facing a broad range of challenges, from pressures on human health and well-being to natural capital depletion, and the security of food, water and energy. These challenges are deeply intertwined with global processes, such as climate change and with local events such as natural disasters. The EU's research & innovation (R&I) policy is now seeking to address these challenges from a new perspective, with Nature-Based Solutions, and turn them into innovation opportunities that optimise the synergies between nature, society and the economy.

Pursuing economic targets of job creation, growth, and innovation while tackling global environmental challenges, has long been seen as impossible. However, any long-term economic competitiveness and security depends on the extent to which natural resources are used sustainably. Therefore, the European Union is investing in nature-based solutions to achieve this double goal. The difference between the prevailing economic model and a sustainable resource use has long seemed insurmountable.

Nature has provided humankind with food, fuel, and shelter throughout evolutionary history. However, in contemporary cities, many natural landscapes have become degraded and replaced with impermeable hard surfaces (e.g., roads, paving, car parks and buildings). The reversal of this trend is dynamic, complex and still in its infancy. There are many facets of urban greening initiatives involving multiple benefits, sensitivities and limitations.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly applied to guide the design of resilient landscapes and cities to enable them to reach economic development goals with beneficial outcomes for the environment and society. The NBS concept is closely related to other concepts including sustainability, resilience, ecosystem services, coupled human and environment, and green (blue) infrastructure; however, NBS represent a more efficient and cost-effective approach to development than traditional approaches.

Increasing urbanisation, changing disease scenarios, and current predictions of climate change impacts require innovative strategies for providing healthy and sustainable cities, now and in the future. The recently coined concept, Nature-based solutions (NBS), is one such strategy referring to actions that are inspired by, supported by, or copied from nature, designed to address a range of environmental challenges.

The built environment accounts for approximately forty percent of the total energy consumption in developed countries. Because buildings have a long life, the greatest opportunity for energy reduction in the built environment will come from energy conservation in the existing building stock. An overview of the policy challenges presented by the built environment, with an emphasis on existing facilities, is accompanied by a discussion of specific technologies that may have the potential to reduce energy use.