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