TAIPEI—Powered by solar energy generated on its roof, Taipei
101, the world’s tallest completed building, is not only a leader for its
breathtaking height but also for its eco-friendly features.
Finished in 2004, the skyscraper is a rare example of green
design in Asia, a region with the world’s busiest construction sector yet one of
the poorest records for eco-friendly building.
China alone is said to be building half of the world’s new
floor space, but the vast majority of these new projects will be energy
guzzlers. Environmentalists worry that these buildings will produce high carbon
emissions for decades to come.
"Energy efficiency is fast becoming one of the defining
issues of our times, and buildings are that issue’s ‘elephant in the room’,"
Bjorn Stigson, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development, said in a statement.
"Buildings use more energy than any other sector and as such
are a major contributor to climate change," he added.
In China, 80 percent of the nearly one billion square meters
(10.7 billion square feet) of new buildings constructed every year are
high-energy buildings that consume 2 to 3 times more energy per unit of
floor-space than buildings in developed countries, according to a report by the
Asia Business Council.
Beijing and other governments in the region are trying to
encourage green construction, but Asia lags far behind Europe which has a 2019
deadline for all new buildings to produce the same amount of energy they
consume.
Office buildings use at least 30 percent of an average
country’s total energy consumption and produce a similar proportion of their
greenhouse gas emissions.
Turning buildings green could reduce carbon emissions by 1.8
billion metric tons per year worldwide, according to the United Nations
Environment program. That is easier said than done, especially in Asia, where
the bottom line is often all that counts.
Asia’s price-sensitive builders baulk at the steeper
materials and construction costs for green buildings, about 5 percent higher,
for features ranging from alternative energy systems to fixtures such as
low-energy lights and reinforced glass that cuts down on heating and
air-conditioning costs. - Reuters
