Compendium on Greenhouse Gas Baselines and Monitoring

The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of the depth and extent of the sources of GHG emissions in the building and construction sector and, thereafter, to present methods and instruments for quantifying these GHG emissions. This is important as effective national strategies and measures to reduce GHG emissions can only be developed based on a holistic understanding of the extensive sources of emissions over the entire building life cycle, from the production of building materials to the construction, operation and, finally, the demolition of a building at the end of its lifetime. Based on this approach, national mitigation impacts of the buildings and construction sector can be fed into national GHG inventories and be incorporated into the relevant UNFCCC reporting processes.

This volume is split into two parts. Part I comprises of chapters 2 and 3 and provides an overview of the building and construction sector, together with the GHG emissions associated with the different stages in a building’s lifecycle. Chapter 2 firstly discusses the international context for monitoring and reporting GHG emissions, before setting out the sources of emissions associated with the sector, their relative importance and the mitigation potential. Chapter 3 provides methods of quantifying the GHG emissions at various stages of the building lifecycle. The procedures, data requirements and boundary conditions to be followed in the estimation of the GHG emissions of the sector are highlighted.

Part II comprises of chapters 4 and 5, and introduces strategies, policies and mitigation actions for the reduction of buildings sector related GHG emissions. Chapter 4 provides guidance for practitioners on a range of mitigation actions designed to reduce sector GHG emissions. Chapter 5 is geared primarily towards policymakers. It provides guidance on policies, plans, programmes and strategies that can provide a framework that is conducive to the implementation of mitigation actions described in chapter 4, together with a discussion on financing mitigation actions.