China 169
the next section will explore the potential barriers to promoting these components as well as the possible unintended negative outcomes of these pathways.
Risk and uncertainty analysis
Stakeholders identified key risks and uncertainties associated with these green
building transition pathways and their main components: energy efficiency for
new green buildings, energy efficiency for retrofitting existing buildings, and
renewable energy. Implementation risks and consequential risks are considered
for each building category in the planning, design/construction, and operation
phases, as well as for the renewable energy component of the pathway in the
installation and operation phases (Figure 10.1).
Implementation risks (barriers)
Stakeholders identified several barriers that may occur before or during the
transition process. These include risks from different areas such as incentive policies, regulations, application of energy- efficient technologies, economic factors
(market pricing or financing), social factors (behaviour change), and environmental factors. Different stakeholders attribute different levels of concern to
these risks (Figure 10.2).
For government stakeholders, the top implementation risks centre on the
policies and technologies. They frequently brought up issues with the implementation of energy efficiency certification policies for operations. As of 2014
there are roughly 1500 buildings in China certified by the Three Star System,
out of which only 107 had the operation label (Li et al., 2014). In 2015, the
operation labels only represented 4.4% of the total certified buildings in Shanghai (MCOHURDM, 2016). The growth of green buildings has largely been
fuelled by government policies and targets (Kong et al., 2012), but the green
building principle cannot be implemented as expected. The main barriers
include both immature green certification and weak policy monitoring and
enforcement for the operation of new buildings. The lack of policy incentives
for the certificated operation label corresponds with a lack of leadership from
the construction industry to meet the standards.
The technological innovations to promote energy saving in the building
sector primarily involve two aspects: enclosure structure (doors, windows, roofs,
floors, and walls) and equipment systems (heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, and operation management optimisation). For the enclosure structure
parts, stakeholders indicated that the technological innovation and application
for enclosure structures, such as envelope materials and roofing insulation, did
not consider local demands and energy efficiency goals. Technological innovation should respect the environmental, social, and economic conditions in
different local areas otherwise the benefits can be limited as the energy efficiency technologies can increase the costs of construction while having limited
impact on energy efficiency. In some buildings, technological applications failed
the next section will explore the potential barriers to promoting these components as well as the possible unintended negative outcomes of these pathways.
Risk and uncertainty analysis
Stakeholders identified key risks and uncertainties associated with these green
building transition pathways and their main components: energy efficiency for
new green buildings, energy efficiency for retrofitting existing buildings, and
renewable energy. Implementation risks and consequential risks are considered
for each building category in the planning, design/construction, and operation
phases, as well as for the renewable energy component of the pathway in the
installation and operation phases (Figure 10.1).
Implementation risks (barriers)
Stakeholders identified several barriers that may occur before or during the
transition process. These include risks from different areas such as incentive policies, regulations, application of energy- efficient technologies, economic factors
(market pricing or financing), social factors (behaviour change), and environmental factors. Different stakeholders attribute different levels of concern to
these risks (Figure 10.2).
For government stakeholders, the top implementation risks centre on the
policies and technologies. They frequently brought up issues with the implementation of energy efficiency certification policies for operations. As of 2014
there are roughly 1500 buildings in China certified by the Three Star System,
out of which only 107 had the operation label (Li et al., 2014). In 2015, the
operation labels only represented 4.4% of the total certified buildings in Shanghai (MCOHURDM, 2016). The growth of green buildings has largely been
fuelled by government policies and targets (Kong et al., 2012), but the green
building principle cannot be implemented as expected. The main barriers
include both immature green certification and weak policy monitoring and
enforcement for the operation of new buildings. The lack of policy incentives
for the certificated operation label corresponds with a lack of leadership from
the construction industry to meet the standards.
The technological innovations to promote energy saving in the building
sector primarily involve two aspects: enclosure structure (doors, windows, roofs,
floors, and walls) and equipment systems (heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, and operation management optimisation). For the enclosure structure
parts, stakeholders indicated that the technological innovation and application
for enclosure structures, such as envelope materials and roofing insulation, did
not consider local demands and energy efficiency goals. Technological innovation should respect the environmental, social, and economic conditions in
different local areas otherwise the benefits can be limited as the energy efficiency technologies can increase the costs of construction while having limited
impact on energy efficiency. In some buildings, technological applications failed