Buildings represent a key area for climate change mitigation. They account for approximately 30% of global energy consumption, and in turn generate around 20% of all energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Current trends in population growth and urbanization will lead to a significant need for new buildings in the near future. Such growth will bring with it a rise in energy consumption and associated GHG emissions – and not just from residential buildings but also the commercial and industrial developments that accompany them. Considerable opportunities exist to realize significant gains in energy efficiency and implement low-carbon strategies in urban areas.
By 2022, two billion people will be living in informal settlements according to the United Nations. Although per capita energy consumption in informal settlements is comparatively low, the benefits of energy efficiency uptake – enhanced energy system sustainability, economic development, social development, environmental sustainability, and increased prosperity (International Energy Agency [IEA], 2014) – stand to equally benefit these communities. Yet despite these benefits, informal settlement households – as so many others – have been slow in taking up energy-efficient technologies. This can be partly attributed to behavioural barriers: Consumers often do not invest in energy efficiency in an economically rational manner. Recent research findings point to effective means of implementing behavioural insights for energy efficiency in informal settlements. Building upon this precedence, governments, international organisations and implementing agencies should encourage the application of potentially low-cost behavioural insights to energy efficiency initiatives in informal settlements to improve intervention efficacy.
This policy brief is the last in a series of six briefs, drawn from Achieving Sustainable Development in Africa through Inclusive Green Growth, a joint publication of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Development Programme on the theme of "achieving sustainable development in Africa through inclusive green growth". Specifically, this policy brief looks at the potential to leverage trade in achieving green growth as trade plays an important role in the world economy and can spur economic gorwth on teh African continent. It recognised that while extractives, particularly fossil fuels, raw ores and metals, dominate Africa’s exports to the rest of the world, African countries can achieve inclusive green growth within a highly globalized and competitiven world market by harnessing their abundant natural resources, which also provide a broad range of benefits across the various sectors of society.
This policy brief looks at the features of structural transformation and its desired outcomes in relation to an inclusive green economy, as well as the transmission mechanisms that could reinforce expected contributions and ensure the sustainability of the transformation. It takes a closer look at the macroeconomic policy landscape of the African continent and provides implementation experiences and summarises good practices on inclusive green economy policies.
The French version of the policy brief is available here.
This policy brief outlines the role and significance of various enablers that could facilitate a smooth transition to green economy in Africa, taking into account the implications for the region and highlights key messages that could inform the application of enabling measures in Africa for optimal policy impacts. It concludes that the transition to a green economy will not happen automatically; and creating certain ‘enabling’ conditions will provide incentives for various stakeholders, including public and private actors, to invest in, and contribute to building an inclusive green economy.
The French version of the policy brief can be found here.