Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Construction Sector in the Global South, an Overview
4. Building Codes and Green Building Rating Systems for the Carbon-Neutral Building Sector in the Global South
5. Barriers to Carbon-Neutral Building Sector in the Global South
5.1. Economic Barriers
5.2. Political Barriers
5.3. Sociocultural Barriers
5.4. Technical and Technological Barriers
5.5. Awareness and Educational Barriers
Barrier Category | Barriers | Reference |
---|---|---|
Economic | Lack of financing incentives and schemes | [15,16,25,27,28,33,42,43,44,45] |
Inadequate tax policies or high tax costs | [31,35] | |
Low economic gains in the short run or lack of proven return on investment | [14,31,46] | |
Risks and uncertainties in green investment | [15,33,34,35,47] | |
High cost of green materials, technologies, and practices | [14,15,16,17,25,33,34,35,44,45,48,49,50,51] | |
An unstable economy and a high inflation rate | [14,17,44,51] | |
Inadequate market supply/delivery of green products, materials, and services for comparison and selection | [14,25,34,35] | |
Sustainability criteria not considered in the bid evaluation | [25] | |
Technical, technological, and educational | Inadequate sustainable practices | [14,34,42,46] |
Lack of professional knowledge, expertise, and skills in sustainable projects, and technologies | [14,15,16,25,28,33,34,35,42,43,45,47,49,52,53] | |
Inadequate use of environmental management systems, certifications, and measurement tools | [15,31,34,36] | |
Inadequate use of updated equipment and technologies | [25,31,42,49] | |
Lack of research | [14] | |
Lack of technology, data, and transmission of technologies | [14,17,28,42,44,50] | |
Political | Lack of governmental incentives, promotion, and support | [16,17,20,28,29,30,31,38,40,41,44] |
Governmental bureaucracy | [14,43] | |
Lack of codes, regulations, and policies | [14,16,25,28,33,34,35,42,44,48,49,54] | |
Lack of enforcement | [14,16,25,28,34,36] | |
Political instability | [33] | |
Corruption, nepotism, & favoritism | [14,33,45] | |
Non-alignment of regulations and byelaws within the green framework | [36] | |
Sociocultural | Lack of consumer/client engagement knowledge, and awareness | [16,25,31,33,36,46,48] |
Lack of collaboration among construction stakeholders | [31,33,34,43] | |
Lack of attention to the specific needs and preferences of the community | [55] | |
Lack of public, consumer, and stakeholder awareness, acceptance, and interest | [14,16,33,34,35,36,49] | |
Inconsistency between the goals and activities of different sectors | [15,36] | |
Unwillingness or fear to change from conventional practices | [15,25,34,35] | |
Lower priority for environmental or social equity issues | [14,27] | |
Poor market demand for sustainable options and green, recyclable construction materials | [14,15,33,34] | |
Preferences for modernization rather than energy efficiency projects | [49] | |
Unfamiliarity with green business practices | [45,49] |
6. Conclusions and Suggested Transformations to Achieve Carbon-Neutral Building Sectors in the Global South
6.1. Environmental Data Collection
6.2. Stringent Building Energy Codes and Green Building System Certifications
6.3. Life Cycle-Based Thinking and Circular Design
6.4. Education Enhancement and Workforce Development
6.5. Net-Zero Emission Business Practices
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Building Sector Emissions (mt) | Building Sector Emissions per Person (tons) | Total Emissions (mt) | Total Emissions per Person (tons) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Iran | 151.6 | 1.7 | 1100 | 12.3 |
Turkey | 73.6 | 0.9 | 637.7 | 7.6 |
India | 166.9 | 0.1 | 4000 | 2.8 |
Indonesia | 39.7 | 0.1 | 2100 | 7.7 |
Saudi Arabia | 6.8 | 0.2 | 953.1 | 26.2 |
Brazil | 21.4 | 0.1 | 2800 | 12.9 |
Kenya | 5.8 | 0.1 | 121.5 | 2.3 |
Egypt | 22 | 0.2 | 452.7 | 4.2 |
South Africa | 32.3 | 0.5 | 522 | 8.6 |
China | 648.8 | 0.5 | 14,800 | 10.4 |
United States | 512 | 1.5 | 6200 | 18.4 |
United Kingdom | 79.1 | 1.2 | 549.2 | 8.1 |
France | 65.7 | 1.0 | 408.9 | 6.1 |
Germany | 138 | 1.7 | 737 | 9.1 |
Japan | 108 | 0.9 | 1400 | 11.4 |
Italy | 64.6 | 1.1 | 364.2 | 6.2 |
Russia | 177.4 | 1.3 | 1900 | 13.5 |
Canada | 76.8 | 2.0 | 896.6 | 23.5 |
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Ghasemi, E.; Azari, R.; Zahed, M. Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations. Buildings 2024, 14, 321. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020321
Ghasemi E, Azari R, Zahed M. Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations. Buildings. 2024; 14(2):321. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020321
Chicago/Turabian StyleGhasemi, Elnaz, Rahman Azari, and Mehdi Zahed. 2024. "Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations" Buildings 14, no. 2: 321. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020321
APA StyleGhasemi, E., Azari, R., & Zahed, M. (2024). Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations. Buildings, 14(2), 321. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings14020321