The Australian Government is reviewing its climate change policies to take stock of Australia’s progress in reducing emissions, and ensure the Government’s policies remain effective in achieving Australia’s 2030 target and Paris Agreement commitments.

Buildings are a major energy consumer and account for almost a quarter of total Australian emissions. The built environment provides a great opportunity in terms of implementing innovative low/zero carbon technology. ASBEC’s Low Carbon, High Performance outlines a clear policy roadmap for realising this opportunity.

Achieving a reduction in carbon emissions in the built environment and other high emitting sectors, however, requires a step-change approach through strong policies that will ensure alignment and coordination of regulatory frameworks at the Federal and State/Territory level to Australia’s Paris Commitment.

In this submission, the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has identified five key policy solutions which could support a transition to high performance buildings:

1. Establish national plan towards zero carbon buildings by 2050

2. Set strong mandatory minimum standards for energy performance of buildings and appliances

3. Create targeted incentives and programs

4. Reform the energy market to remove market distortions that undermine the business case for energy efficiency and distributed generation

5. Resource enabling energy data, information, research and education measures